Bound by Blood
by VampireWriter144
Summary: Blood curses are ugly and the one enslaving Sheik is no different. When Sheik's curse forces him betray Link, emotions run high and long hidden secrets emerge as he struggles to salvage his relationship with Link or risk losing the one he loves forever.
1. Desert Rescue

**Bound By Blood**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. If I did, Sheik would be his own person rather than Zelda in disguise, he'd be in more of the games, and the Sheikah would be more prominent characters.

Warnings: First and foremost, Sheik is **separate from Zelda **and is a **boy**. Second, this is a **yaoi** fanfiction. Third, I based a lot of my plotline on the **Ocarina of Time game and the non-canonical manga**, mostly because I loved the idea of Sheik acting as a double agent of sorts and that became an integral part of my story. Fourth, there _is_ **implied, non-graphical rape** (will give proper warning in the chapter it takes place in). Finally, since we never actually see Sheik's face and know next to nothing about the Sheikah, **I took some liberties with his appearance and Sheikah culture**.

Now that the story warnings out of the way, I'd like to issue review warnings. I **DO NOT **want reviews that inform me that Sheik is really Zelda in disguise or that he has bright blond hair and tan skin rather than platinum blond and pale skin. I know that. I've played the game, too. I'm not stupid, so don't harass me about it. I **DO NOT **want reviews bashing homosexuality, yelling at me for spoiling the manga/game, or complaining about the briefly mentioned, hardly-even-detailed rape. I have given you all fair, clear warning of what is in this story in **bold, idiot-proof letters **above**. If you don't like it, then press the little back button on your Internet browser and go elsewhere. Do not read this story just to bash the elements present in it and waste my time.**

Now, for those of you who I haven't scared away and are serious about reading my fanfiction, this was inspired by the wonderful stories Aceilux by Wyna Hiros and Judgment Days by Aubuyn and by their incredible depictions of Sheik. I can only hope my story can hold its own beside their masterpieces. And now, onto the story.

* * *

Chapter 1: Desert Rescue

_He's late_….

My bandaged fingers danced idly over the taut strings of my lyre, its golden body glinting brightly in the blazing Gerudo sun. The desert temperature was scorching, heat waves rising from the yellow sand like writhing sidewinders. The blue, skintight battlesuit I wore only worsened it, trapping the heat under layers of cloth and flexible, dragon-scale armor. A fine sheen of sweat encased my entire body like the slime coating Morpha's watery tentacles, for not even the thin sliver of shadows I hid myself in offered any reprieve from the heat.

However, my mind was far from the stifling heat and the sweat dampening my cowl and wrappings. Anxiety was clawing at my stomach, inching closer to near-panic the more my thoughts revolved around a certain green-clad hero. While I attempted to remain calm – forcing myself to breathe deeply and slowly – my instincts told me something was awry.

After Link and I had parted after liberating the Shadow Temple, I had surreptitiously followed him on his week long journey from Kakariko to the Gerudo Valley. When Link and Epona had safely cleared the broken bridge and I had quietly warped to the Desert Colossus to await Link, the moon had still been in the sky. However, before I knew it, the moon had completed her journey across the night sky and sank into the west as the sun yawned on the eastern horizon. The sun's waking had brought blinding light and burning heat with it, chasing me from my perch atop the arch in front of the Temple into the safety of the shadows high atop the carving of the Sand Goddess. The sun was now at its zenith in the bleached-out sky and still, there were no signs of Link or his little firefly fairy.

_By the Three, what is taking him so long? _I wondered agitatedly, retreating further back into the menial shade, clinging to the shadows as a child would hug her doll protectively to her chest. _Surely the trials of the Haunted Wasteland have not bested him. He can easily cross the River of Sand with his Longshot and he possesses the Lens of Truth, so he should have no conflicts in following the Phantom Guide. After the trials we survived in the Shadow Temple, he knows better than to fall for the Haunted Wasteland's illusions and visions. Even if he does, he has the Lens of Truth to cut through them_….

Despite the assurances I made for myself, the tight knot in my gut did not loosen. I kicked a loose piece of sandstone free from the Sand Goddess's shoulder, hoping to relieve the tightly bound tension in my chest. The chunk tumbled the sand below, but I was still as anxious as before. So I reverted back to reassuring myself, my eyes locating the hazy brown cloud that perpetually hung over the Haunted Wasteland.

_Yes, the winds are strong and the sand is blinding, but I detect no abnormality about them. There is no sandstorm worsening the Wasteland's usual conditions. I confirmed that when the song's magic carried me directly over the Wasteland, so Link should be able to see the flags. There are no quicksand traps around his route, so long as he did not stray from the path, and the Gerudo-_

My body stiffened, freezing over harder than the ice encasing Zora's Domain, and in a low voice, I cursed, "Bleeding shadows…." Almost as soon as the thought entered my head, Zelda's blood bond nearly threw me from the Sand Goddess, my limbs abruptly charged with a force more powerful than any adrenaline rush, my body screaming at me to run, to find Link, to protect Link. It was all I could do to keep my body from flinging itself from the Desert Colossus. Then I knew.

I resisted the magnetic, supernatural pull of the blood bond long enough to tuck my lyre into the back of my chest wrappings. Then I surrendered to its insistent tug and leapt from my perch, falling with controlled grace to the sand below. The leaden ache in my limbs and head cleared immediately as I obeyed.

Fueled both by the blood bond's consistent tug on my body – like a leaf caught in a river's current – and my own desire to keep Link safe, I sprinted across the sandy landscape the second my feet were reacquainted with the ground. My legs propelled me past the sandstone walls and oasis of the Desert Colossus, away from the clear skies and Spirit Temple, and out into the battering winds and whipping sand of the Haunted Wasteland. As I ran, mindless of the searing heat and the sting of flying sand, Zelda's voice – garbled and warped by the blood bond – echoed repeatedly in my head like a bad melody, in tune with the bond's drag on my limbs: _Protect Link_… _Protect Link_… _Sheik_… _The choice to aid him directly or indirectly lies with you_… _My only order is to protect Link_… _from the Gerudo_….

_Why did I not think of those accursed harpies?_ I shouted in my head, berating myself as I ran unaided through the Wasteland, wind and sand buffeting the exposed portion of my face. Unlike the other races, I had no need of the Phantom Guide to maneuver through the raging sands of the desert. Sheikah Warriors never become lost. Our sense of direction is too keen and our memories damn near photographic. _With Nabooru under Koume and Kotake's mind control and the whole of the Gerudo population loyal to her and Ganondorf, they are more a threat to Link than the desert! By the Goddesses, I might as well have sent him gagged and bound to the King of Evil himself! I should have followed him! I _knew _he wouldn't listen to my request to tread swiftly and carefully through the Fortress!_

Because there was only one thing the blood bond's sudden activation could mean: I failed to obey Zelda's order; Link had been captured.

* * *

An hour later, the stone monument materialized out of the yellow-brown haze of stinging sand and wind, the Phantom Guide hovering patiently by the shrine, clearly visible to my Sheikah eyes. The sight spurred me on, my legs burning as my speed increased. I was nearing the Gerudo Fortress. Following the path markers, their flags whipping in the brutal, sandy gale, I spirited to the long, roiling quicksand pit that was the River of Sand. Effortlessly, I vaulted over the immense pit, landing lightly on the other side. Such a jump would be impossible for any other race but the Sheikah. I charged onward, the wind and sand slowly abating, clearing, until I at last broke free of the Haunted Wasteland and emerged back into the sunlight and intense heat. My journey through the desert was complete, and the great wooden gate separating the Haunted Wasteland from the Gerudo Fortress loomed before me. It was closed shut.

Cursing, I darted into the nearest patch of meager shadows I could find and seized a handful of darkness, dragging it around me, cloaking myself from the watchtower guard. Digging my heels into the sand to brace myself against the bond's impatient, fierce pull on my limbs, I rooted myself to the ground, watching and waiting until the tower guard turned her back. The moment I saw her begin to retreat towards the opposite end of the tower, I reacted. Propelled by my legs and the blood bond, I sprang up onto the wooden beams, scaling the sides like a Walltuala. The sun burned away the shadows I had used to conceal myself, but I ignored both it and the ache in my limbs as I climbed. Even without Zelda's order sending the blood bond into a frenzy, my single-minded craze to protect Link overwhelmed all else. He was my only concern.

I hung at the edge of the tower long enough to assure the Gerudo woman still had her back turned to me before I flung myself over the lip to strike her smartly across the back of the neck. Instantly, she started to fall forward, but I caught her before she could tumble to the hard earth below. Lowering her carefully onto the tower floor, I checked her pulse to assure my blow hadn't inadvertently killed her. After I felt the reassuring throb of her heartbeat against my fingers, I hurriedly slid down the ladder and hugged the shadows cast by the canyon walls to slip past the guards. Once inside the cool gloom of the clay fortress, I slowed my frantic run to a stealthy, swift creep, eyes and ears strained for any hint of the Gerudo thieves. Relying on the deep shadows, crates and rafters of the Fortress, I furtively maneuvered my way through the maze-like structure, as silent and invisible as the darkness I hailed from. To keep from alerting the Gerudo to my presence, I knocked out the guards only when absolutely necessary as I darted from room to room, checking each and every cell for Link.

Just when I began to despair he was not in the Fortress, that a far worse fate had befallen Hyrule's hero, I found him. Had I not spotted his bloodstained tunic and weapons lying discarded on the floor, I might not have thought to kick aside the coyote skin rug concealing the trapdoor. Promptly, I knelt and threw open the wooden hatch. Blazing sunlight flooded the dingy stone cell below. The blood bond yanked violently at me. My breath caught in my throat.

As I expected, Link was there, but what caught me off guard was his state. The blonde Hylian was on his knees, his arms shackled to the wall behind him. He had been stripped down to his leggings, blood, dirt and bruises marring his perfectly muscled chest. Even from this distance, I could see the angry, scarlet whip marks crisscrossing his back and chest.

A cold ball of ice settled in the pit of my stomach, churning in nausea as realization and shame swept over me. Stifling the urge to be sick – from both the blood bond's unrelenting efforts to secure my obedience and my disgust at myself for failing to uphold my vow – I swore in a fluent stream under my breath. Quickly, I bundled Link's weapons in his green tunic, slung his bow and quiver over my shoulder, tucked the Master Sword under my arm, and leapt down into the cell.

The fall was short and the inside of the cell smelled like wet clay, sweat and blood. Depositing my load on the dirt floor, I crossed the short distance to Link, squatting down to peer into his face. Up chose, the damage was even worse: burns, bruises, stab wounds and whip marks, some still oozing blood, others crusted with grime. The Gerudo had tortured him. Only the sight of his steadily rising and falling chest allowed me to swallow the bile and infuriated growl rising in my throat. He was alive; unconscious, but alive.

Relaxing slightly, I immediately extracted a throwing needle from my arm bindings and moved behind him to pick the lock of his manacles. The desperate tug of the blood bond was beginning to abate, the nagging pain in my head and body receding as I fulfilled Zelda's command. Suddenly, the Hylian shifted, raising his dust-coated, golden head. Brows furrowed, he craned his neck around, sleepy, half-lidded eyes squinting at me in confusion. He blinked several times before understanding lifted the clouds fogging his sky blue eyes. "Sheik?"

"Why is it, Hero, I always seem to drag you out of the most dire of situations?" I demanded hotly, my eyes narrowing as I wiggled the needle in the lock. The tumblers caught and the iron cuff sprang open, falling from his wrist with a clang. I proceeded to the second. "How in the name of the Three Goddess do you plan on saving Hyrule when you cannot save yourself?"

"I was working on an escape plan," he responded indignantly, though his parched, cracked lips were stretching into a smile. Somehow, even with his voice dry and raspy from lack of water, he managed to sound cheerful.

I snorted disbelievingly, averting my eyes from the lock long enough to shoot him a glare. "Yes, I can see how much progress you made. Surely remaining chained to this wall was all part of your brilliant plan," I responded wryly, freeing his other wrist.

With an exhausted sigh, Link slumped heavily against my shoulder, his hot breath tickling my ear. The dead weight would have knocked over a lesser man. Forcefully shoving away my body's heated reaction to the half-naked Hylian pressed against me, I peered into Link's tired face and inquired, "Your wounds are grievous, my friend. Have you a fairy with you?"

Shaking his golden head, he cracked open one blue eye and offered me a wane, but friendly smile. Hoarsely, he responded, "Other than, Navi, no. Besides, at the moment, fatigue is more my enemy than pain. There should be red potion in my weapons belt."

"Can you sit upright?" I asked as I eased myself away from the heat of his body, holding him up with my hands instead. With immense restraint, I kept my eyes trained on his face rather than drifting down toward the tantalizing sight of his naked chest. He nodded weakly and I released him, but hovered by his side a moment longer, assuring he would not keel over. When I deemed him steady enough to support himself, I rummaged through his clothes and weapons until at last I procured a glass bottle filled with the scarlet potion. Uncorking it, I inquired as I handed the bottle to Link, "Speaking of fairies and Navi, where is your little fae friend?"

Before the hero could swallow his mouthful of potion to respond, a muffled, but noticeably high voice suddenly cut in, "In here! Behind you!" Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Navi trapped inside a corked bottle, the light encasing her hummingbird body flaring with annoyance as she pounded on the glass with her tiny fists.

Smiling around the lip of the bottle, Link drained the last bit of potion, his face twisting into a disgusted grimace before he uttered a laugh. "Personally, I think it's an improvement." With a mischievous wink in my direction, he waggled his eyebrows and questioned, "Any objections to leaving her in there for a little while longer?"

The fairy screeched indignantly, shouting shrilly, "I beg your pardon? Why… why you ungrateful little-!"

"I will free you in a moment, Navi," I interrupted curtly, cutting her tirade off. "Allow me to tend to your master first. His condition is no laughing matter and we only have a limited amount of time before the Gerudo realize I am here. We need to be out of here and halfway to the Desert Colossus before that time, but we cannot do that if Link is still wounded."

Navi clammed up immediately, crossing her needle-thin arms over her chest and turning her head away as if in huffy annoyance. However, I could see the how my words struck her underneath the façade of impatience.

The uncharacteristic silence directly following my logic unsettled me. Under normal circumstances, Link would have shrugged off such a statement concerning his health or stubbornly insist he was fine. The lack of any such denial compelled me to look from the trapped fairy to her Hylian partner, fearing he might have blacked out at last from his wounds. However, my worry was for naught. Link was still sitting upright, clutching the now empty potion bottle in his hand and gazing at me with cloudy blue eyes, brows slightly pinched in the center and a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"What is it, Hero?" I inquired apprehensively, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him. "Do your wounds ail you? You are unusually quiet."

Shaking his head as he grabbed his stained tunic, he asserted slowly, "No. The pain is nothing I cannot handle. It's just… the comment you made…. It was strange…"

I frowned. "What comment?" I asked curiously as Link gingerly tugged his tunic over his head, the taut muscles of his chest and stomach flexing under the blood and dirt as he moved. I quickly averted my eyes and picked up the bottle Navi was trapped in, careful not to jostle the fairy too much.

"You referred to me as Navi's master," Link explained carefully, watching me intently as he tentatively fastened his weapons belt around his hips, wincing slightly. "I am not her master. She willingly follows me… whether I want her to or not."

Navi's offended shrieks fell upon deaf ears as I frowned behind my cowl, my fingers stilling on the bottle's cork. Freedom. Willingness. Both were unfamiliar concepts to me. I could no longer recall what it was like to answer to no one but myself, to choose when to act and when to remain idle, to lack an imprisoning curse of ancient blood magic which bent my will to my masters', forcing me to obey no matter how much I detested it. I knew no other life outside my own: a life of servitude.

Tugging on the cork, I freed the screeching Navi, ignoring her agitated flight around Link's head as I spoke over her, "My apologies, Hero. I often forget not everyone answers to a master."

This shocked both Navi and Link into silence, halting the annoyed barbs they flung at each other and freezing both in place – Navi hovering in front of the warrior's face, Link with the flat of his palm suspended over the fairy, as if he was about to swat her away. Lowering his hand slowly, eyes fixed on me, he opened his mouth to speak but I held up a finger to stop him, my body tensing. The distant sound of female voices barking orders and shouting oaths tickled my ears, set against the wooden clank of glaives, the metallic chime of scimitars, and the soft, but insistent pad of slippered feet against hard-packed dirt.

"Our time has expired." I announced sharply, standing abruptly and thrusting a hand out to Link. "It seems the Gerudo have been made aware of my intrusion. They are amassing their forces. It will not be long before they arrive here, and it would not do well for either of us if I were to be discovered here."

Cursing under his breath, Link accepted my hand and allowed me to haul him to his feet. His face twisted in pain as he stretched his wounds the wrong way. The potion may have replenished his energy and stamina, but his injuries still needed tending. "How are we to leave unnoticed if the guards are on high alert?" Link demanded roughly as I draped his arm over my shoulder, supporting his weight.

"By using the same songs I teach you," I responded simply, stamping down the surge of lust rising in my chest at his touch and proximity while I extracted my lyre from the back of my wrappings. "Once I start playing, do not let go. This will only work if we are touching."

Obediently, Link slung his other arm over my chest and clung tightly to me, the heat of his body seeping through my battlesuit. All strength and feeling seemed to drain away from my limbs, leaving me curiously weak and numb. My heart leapt in my chest and my blood roared, scattering my thoughts and throwing them into the wind. For the life of me, I could not recall the notes to the Requiem of Spirit. The circle of Link's arms, embracing me like a lover, was all that penetrated my awareness.

"Sheik!" a shrill, female voice yelled, snapping me back to reality. Navi was gripping the bridge of my nose with her miniscule hands, her tiny, violet eyes wide. This close, I distinctly saw the shape of her naked body past the natural blue glow shrouding her. "Sheik, hurry! The Gerudo are getting closer!"

Alerted by Navi's warning and escalating pound of fast approaching footsteps, I wrenched myself from the haze Link's touch had induced and shook my head ferociously, dislodging the fairy from my nose. The notes to the Requiem of Spirit returned to my memory and my bandaged fingers reacted, quickly dancing over the lyre's strings, plucking out the melodic tune. Navi dove into the safety of Link's cap seconds before the song's magic activated, harmlessly dissolving our bodies into a shimmering mist of russet bronze. The feel of Link's arms around me disappeared as we were reduced to little more than bodiless spirits, trapped in the magical stream of a teleportation spell. The ground fell away as the river of magic carried us through the cell window to the canyon outside, moments before a rope ladder dropped into the now empty chamber. The Gerudos' frustrated screams followed us as we soared safely away from the Fortress and into the battering sun, winds and sand of the Haunted Wasteland.

As the clay fortress shrank into the distance, swallowed up by the opaque brown-gold cloud of dust and sand, at last I felt the last lingering effects of the blood bond pass into obscurity. I had remedied my error and thus fulfilled Zelda's order. Link was free, the Gerudo were far behind us and all that remained of our quest was to the purge the Spirit Temple, awaken the final Sage… and defeat Ganondorf. Much of the tension and anxiety lifted from my mind, but not all of it. Link was still wounded and only after I saw him hearty and hale again would I be able to find peace… or at least, return to the level of concern and fear I had grown accustomed to in the past seven years. For me, true relaxation would be achieved only when Ganondorf was dead and gone.

Finally, the endless expanse of the Wasteland below was broken by the towering stone structure of the Desert Colossus and it little oasis. Around us, I felt the magic of the transportation spell slowing, waning as we neared our target. The sandy earth rose up below us and the glittering bronze mist began to dissipate, allowing our bodies to reform until, at last, we were whole again, standing on the loose sand. A moment later, Link's arms slid away from me, his fingers accidentally brushing against my chest. Even through the tabard, chest wrappings and battlesuit, his touch sent chills and a thrill of desire through me.

"I have had a number of narrow escapes before, but that was by far the closest," Link commented cheerfully, his blue eyes sparkling with child-like innocence. However, I detected a dark undercurrent hidden behind the turquoise irises. The war was taking its toll on him, stripping him of his purity just as it had stripped him of his childhood. The sight reinforced my hardened determination to protect him from Ganondorf and the darker horrors of the war.

The Hylian warrior's smile faded under my intense scrutiny, his fair eyebrows knitting in the center. "Sheik?" he questioned hesitantly, reaching out for me. "Are you well?"

Suddenly, Link's extended hand spasmed and pain flashed across his face, warping his handsome features. With a grunt, Link doubled over, eyes squeezed shut and clutching his shoulder in agony. Reacting, I caught him before he hit the sand, careful not to touch his back and its half-healed lashes. Gently peeling his fingers away from his wounded shoulder, I saw fresh blood staining the forest green sleeve of his tunic. I shoved the fabric away from his arm, revealing the reopened stab wound in his shoulder.

"Your wounds need tending," I told him urgently, peering worriedly into Link's twisted, twitching face, wincing ever-so-slightly as his grip tightened around my bicep, pressing on an old bruise. Wrenching my gaze away from the blonde, my gaze landed on a hole in a section of the Colossus walls, framed by two palm trees and clogged by a rockslide. I was about to look away when I did a double take, my eyes narrowing as a memory crept forth from the deep recesses of my mind.

When the Zelda and I were nine and ten respectively, the King brought us to the Gerudo Fortress as a way of introducing his daughter to the thieves and establishing an early relationship with them, a trip he'd already made with her brothers when they were nine. The rebellious, tomboy princess managed to behave herself for most of the trip, but during our tour of the Desert Colossus and the Spirit Temple, Zelda snuck away, and I, her Guardian, being bound to her, had little choice but to follow. Her love of adventure led us into a cavern nested between those very same palm trees… inside of which was a Great Fairy.

Perfect.

I allowed myself a small, indulgent smile behind my cowl before turning my attention back to Link. "Can you walk?" I asked urgently, peering into his face.

"Aye," Link grunted roughly, taking a hesitant step towards the Sand Goddess carving… and his knees buckled under him. For the second time that day, I caught him.

"Or not," I contradicted dryly, pressing a bandaged hand to his chest. Draping his uninjured arm over my shoulders and supporting his weight gingerly with an arm around his waist, I redirected him toward the Great Fairy's Fountain. "Besides, you were going the wrong way."

Link frowned, arching an eyebrow at me. "I was under the distinct impression our destination was the Spirit Temple."

"It is, Hero," I assured him, helping him shuffle through the sand. "But there is a lady friend of mine I would like to introduce you to first."

The warrior shot me a sharp, almost hurt look, his blue eyes icing over. "Who?" he demanded gruffly, scowling. His defensive, jealous tone caught me off guard and I met his gaze curiously. The envy in his voice… I could not understand it, but decided not to read too much into it. It probably meant nothing.

_Link is destined for greatness. He will marry Zelda and become King. He will never love a shadow, _I reminded myself. It was this mantra I chanted in my head whenever I needed reminding that my love for Link would always be unrequited. He was light and I was shadow. He was free to do as he pleased and I was destined to remain bound to the light, dutifully following it wherever it would go. It has always been so and how it always would be.

"A Great Fairy," I finally responded, watching for the hero's reaction out of the corner of my eye.

The tension in his face softened and small smile played around his lips. "Oh," he murmured sheepishly, looking away, chagrined. My eyes widened marginally when color flooded Link's honey-toned cheeks. The desert heat must be affecting him.

To distract myself from my dangerous thoughts, I redirected the conversation. "You never did tell me what act of idiocy landed you in a cell at the Gerudo Fortress. What was it this time?"

Casting an embarrassed, sideways glance at me, Link explained, "Well, it seems the Kakariko carpenters had tired of working for their boss, Mutoh, and decided they wanted to join the Gerudos' ranks instead. However, they overlooked the Gerudos' hatred of the men and predictably, they locked the carpenters up."

"And predictably, you had to be heroic and rescued the carpenters, only to be captured yourself," I summarized dryly, fond exasperation coloring my voice.

Link grinned. "You know me too well, my friend."

There was a kind of tinkling, bell-like laugh originating from the crown of Link's hair. A moment later, Navi poked her head out from the Hylian's green cap and pointed out smartly, "Link, Sheik's friendship with you has little to do with anticipating your blind heroism. Even a half-wit could see your thickheaded stubbornness and recklessness!"

I let out a bark of laughter as Link shook his head violently, snarling, "Shut it!" at the fairy as she flew away, giggling. Had his arm been uninjured, I was sure he would have squashed her in his palm. But when his annoyed grumbles evaporated at a pained wince, I was yanked violently back to reality, my expression darkening. In a quiet voice, I asked gravely, "What questions did the Gerudo ask when they tortured you?"

The amusement faded from Link's eyes and the hidden pain and fear I detected earlier darkened the celestial blue of his eyes, like thunderstorm clouds rolling over a summer sky. Overhead, Navi's erratic, meandering flight stilled, her musical, chime-like laughter dying away. For a time, I was unsure if he would respond. But then, staring straight ahead, eyes glazed and unseeing, he answered hollowly, "They questioned me mostly about Zelda: where she was hiding, if I had contact with her, who her spies were." At that, I stiffened but made no comment as he continued, "Occasionally, they'd ask me other things, like if there was any truth to the rumors of an emerging rebel army, if I was receiving aid in my quest and the identities of the awakened Sages. But mostly, they wanted my meager knowledge of Zelda."

Upon my silence and tense, rigid posture, Link stopped dead in the midst of our sandy trek, forcing me to halt as well. A sunny smile graced his chafed, cut lips, chasing his haunted expression and memories back into the depths heavenly eyes, like golden sunlight piercing black storm clouds. However, I knew it would be back. Even a warrior as strong as he could not entirely banish such a level of fear and pain so easily. It would linger under the surface, ready to spring an attack when he was alone and vulnerable.

"Fear not, Sheik," Link assured bracingly, drawing me from my musings. "Those Gerudo bitches failed to extract more than colorful curses from me. I revealed nothing of Zelda or of the Sages or of your guidance or of any inkling of information that could be useful to them."

Nodding, I gently urged him closer to the Great Fairy's Fountain, murmuring gratefully, "Thank the Three for small mercies. You truly are Farore's chosen one, Hero. A lesser man would have begged for mercy under the Gerudos' brutality."

Link seemed to ponder this, his aquamarine eyes following Navi's twisting flight around our bodies. After a stretch of silence, he spoke pensively, "I think you would have fared even better than I, had you been in my place. Since you are so well versed in stealth and silence, I believe you would not have even gratified the Gerudo with a single sound."

Involuntarily, I flinched. Startled by my sharp, violent reaction, Link stared at me in alarm. "Sheik...?" he began hesitantly, only to break off when I swiftly dipped my hand into the bomb bag hanging from his baldric. Palming an apple-sized explosive, I instructed in a short, clipped tone, "Stay here. Sit or lean against something if your knees fail you. Navi, please try to keep him from acting foolishly."

Before either could respond, I walked briskly towards the Fountain's blocked entrance, desperate to put distance between us lest I gave more of myself away. Behind me, the blonde whispered anxiously to Navi, "Was it something I said?"

Eyes sliding closed momentarily, I thought grimly, _Yes, Link. I can withstand torture without uttering a sound._ _I have had a great deal of practice in perfecting the art of silence in the past five years. _Flicking the bomb's ignition hammer, a spark glinted, then flared brightly as the wick caught fire. Taking aim, I lobbed the bomb expertly at the rockslide clogging the Fountain's opening. There was deafening explosion of fire, smoke and rock fragments, followed closely by a reverberating shockwave of heat, wind and sand. With a choked cough, I twisted my head away, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing my cowl closer to my face. The smell of gunpowder and smoke was heavy in the hot, dry air. Only after the wind and grains of sand generated by the blast subsided did I open my eyes… and met a pair of very clear, very close crystal blue irises.

Blinking in surprise, I recoiled away from Link, more out of alarm than a desire to distance myself from him. After recovering from my initial shock of being snuck up on, I regained my composure and glared angrily at him. There was a broken palm frond wedged under his arm like a crutch and Navi was pulling back on the end of one long ear with all her might, butterfly wings fluttering frantically as she shouted at him to listen to me and stay where he was.

"Hero, I thought I told you to stay _put_," I snarled irately, stepping forward to throw his arm over my shoulders and lead him to the now open entrance of the Fairy's Fountain.

"I am sorry, Sheik," Navi apologized morosely, surrendering the losing battle of tug-'o'-war on Link's ear to hover in front of me, delicate hands clasped before her, amethyst eyes apologetic. "I tried to keep him there, but he refused to listen to me."

"It is quite alright, Navi," I said kindly, relying on my eyes to project my hidden smile to the fairy. "I should have anticipated his stubborn refusal to listen to single accursed word that leaves my mouth." Here, I punctuated my statement with an irate glower at the man beside me.

Grinning mischievously at me as we passed into the cool shade of the cavern, Link offered me a half-shrug and drawled lazily, "Sheik, after all the times I pursued you when you fled and all our time spent together, have you not learned you are incapable of keep me away from you?"

Startled, I found myself staring wide-eyed into Link's serene, smiling face. _I am reading too far into his words, _I decided firmly, tearing my gaze from his as the shimmering, wavering walls of the fountain slowly materialized before us.

"You say strange things, Hero," I muttered under my breath, centering the Hylian carefully on the Fountain's pedestal and backing down the steps, gazing intently at his back. Link glanced at me over his shoulder before raising the Ocarina of Time to his lips, the sweet, soothing melody of Zelda's Lullaby echoing off the walls. The last, wavering notes of the song were drowned out by the Great Fairy's keening, reverberating laugh as she exploded out of the Fountain's waters, crystalline drops raining from her from like shards of diamond. Standing with my arms crossed over my chest, I gazed evenly at the fairy as she presented him with a crystal containing a spell of protection, the embodiment of Nayru's power. Most men would have fallen to their knees in breathless awe at her beauty: the luminous violet eyes; the flowing fuchsia hair; the smooth, ethereally glowing white skin; the vines and leaves shrouding her naked body, the thigh-high, brown leather boots. But over this man – over me – her beauty held no sway. For me, Link – even covered in grime, gore and blood – was the loveliest creature present.

The fountain walls glistened with healing, golden light and Link stretched and twisted his body experimentally, painlessly. A wide grin split his handsome face and a relieved sigh whispered from my lips. Link was healed, safe at last. My anxiety had reduced down to its normal, consistent level.

After the Great Fairy submerged back into the rippling waters of her fountain, her warbling laugh still bouncing off the walls, I called out to Link as he approached, twisting at the waist and spinning his arms like the Kakariko windmill. "How do you feel, Hero?"

"Like a new man," he responded cheerfully, striding past me. I followed him out into the Gerudo sun, my eyes tracking the erratic flight of his excitable fairy. While we strode through the sands, only half-listening to Navi's insistent chatter, a shadow abruptly crossed Link's face. In a voice clearly stating wounded pride, the warrior groused to himself, "I still cannot believe I was ambushed, captured and tortured by a bunch of _women_…. It's bloody humiliating…."

Despite myself, I snorted and advised sagely, "Do not underestimate the fairer sex, Hero. Keep in mind, the Gerudo are the mothers and sisters of Ganondorf. They are fierce warriors and merciless thieves and are not to be taken lightly."

For a long moment, Link stared at me searchingly, almost as if he was examining me. When he at last averted his gaze, I thought I heard him murmur, "The fairer sex indeed…."

Shaking off the fantastical illusion of my desires, I cursed the harsh desert wind and heat for causing such tempting delusions. Had I not been a Sheikah, I would have claimed the imaginary sounds of Link's voice were a trick of the impish spirits and misleading mirages of the Haunted Wasteland. However, since such my Sheikah eyes pierced such falsities, I had only the searing, dizzying heat and dehydration to blame.

"Sheik?"

Snapping out of my daze, I found myself staring into Link's questioning eyes. Suddenly aware he must have been talking to me whilst I was wrapped in my thoughts, I apologized, "Pardon my lapse of attention, Hero. Were you saying something?"

"I asked if you had any objections to me dipping into the oasis for a quick swim," Link repeated patiently, gesturing to the clear pool. "I have not bathed since liberating the Shadow Temple, and Navi has been complaining that my hair and cap are beginning to stink."

"You would complain as well if you were me!" Navi argued petulantly, flitting in front of Link with an angry puff of glittering fairy dust. "You are not the one who has to sleep there!"

The Hylian batted her away with a wave of his gauntleted hand without even looking at her. Grinning wryly at me, he added, "Besides, I fear if I fail to wash my clothes soon they will peel themselves from my body and run away screaming."

Chuckling softly, I shoved him lightly in the direction of the oasis, encouraging, "Well, go on then, you smelly Hylian. You need not my authorization to bathe. I may be your guide, but I am also your friend, not a master whom you need permission from."

For the second time that day, a meditative frown touched the blonde's lips and he held my gaze with unwavering, probing intensity. The calculating scrutiny unsettled me. Whenever Link tried to strip away the layers of cloth and mystery I shrouded myself with, trouble generally followed.

Fortunately, the warrior's expression cleared back into the child-like buoyancy I loved so much and a moment later, challenged, "Hey, Sheik. What say you and I have a race to see who can reach the oasis first?"

I raised an eyebrow. "A race? In this heat?"

Link's grin widened. "What's the matter, Sheik? Afraid I will beat you?"

"Not even remotely, Hero," I snorted amusedly, shaking my head at him. "You may have the advantage of height and strength over me, but I can assure you, in the speed and agility department, I am superior to you."

"Oh?" he questioned daringly with a lofty arch a slender brow, pausing in his stride. "Care to test your theory, O great and mighty Shadow Warrior?"

Behind my cowl, I smirked, my eyes narrowing as the competitive spirit seized me. "You're on, Long Ear," I agreed, holding up a bandaged finger. "On three. One…" Out stances stiffened, eyes trained on the glittering waters and shaded palms of the oasis. "Two…" Muscles tensed jerkily, bunching together under fabric. "Three!"

We took off with a shower of gritty sand and an indignant fairy yelling something about male hormones in the distance. For the first several yards, Link was able to keep pace with me, but the father we progressed, the more he fell behind. While his legs were indeed strong, mine were built more for speed and balance. Furthermore, my narrower frame, light-weight weapons, and my skintight, streamlined battlesuit worked to my advantage. Before long, I had far outstripped the Hylian and by the time I arrived at the oasis, he was little bigger than Navi.

Laughing gaily, I perched myself delicately upon a jutting stone under the shade of a palm, flicking my sweat-drenched bangs from my eyes. Patiently, I waited, watching Link's green-clad figure grow steadily larger until he at last skidded to a stop in front of me, bent double with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

When Link lifted his shining, sweaty face, I teased smugly, "Care to revoke your previous statement, Hero?"

"Damn are you fast," Link gasped out admiringly, grinning toothily and straightened up with a groan. "Mark my words, though. I _will _beat you one day, Sheik."

"I shall believe that when I see it," I retorted humorously, balancing my elbow on a crooked knee and resting my clothed chin against the heel of my hand. "You have a long way to go before you can best me."

"Aye, I do," Link agreed humbly, his wide, toughened fingers fumbling with the buckle of his baldric and belt. The sheath of the Master Sword and his weapons belt hit the sand with a muted thud, his green tunic falling slack around his waist. Shading his eyes with one hand, the Hylian squinted up at the bleached sky, cursing softly, "Farore's Wind, it is hot."

"Deserts usually… are…" My words dried up alongside all the saliva in my mouth as Link tugged his tunic and white undershirt up over his head, tossing them into the clear waters of the oasis. His sun-kissed skin practically glowed in the blazing desert light, sweat glistening off his chiseled arm, chest and stomach muscles. Plopping down onto the sand, Link began stripping his boots from his long legs and I found myself unable to look away, hiding my mesmerized awe behind a mask of cool indifference.

Thankfully, Navi diverted the Hylian's attention from my stare by zipping agitatedly around him, shrieking, "Link you fool! Do not just start undressing in front of Sheik! That's rude!"

Innocently, Link blinked and frowned in confusion. "Why? He knew I was planning to bathe. Besides, we are both men. We share the same anatomy, so what is indecent about it? There is nothing about my body he has not seen on his."

Navi squeaked in embarrassment, clapping her hands over her mouth while I all but stabbed myself with a throwing needle to battle the sudden, white-hot surge of arousal at the image Link's words conjured. Ignoring his fairy, Link turned toward me and I tore my eyes away from his naked chest before he noticed my stare. Meeting his concerned gaze, the hero asked, "Do you mind, Sheik? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

In answer, I shook my head, not trusting my voice. In any case, my throat was too dry to allow for coherent speech.

Triumphantly, Link turned back to Navi. "See? He cares not."

"But I do!" she protested hotly. "I may be small, but I am still a lady and it is improper to be naked before a female!"

"Then hide in the palm fronds and close your eyes if it bothers you so," he suggested impatiently, gesturing to a tree with one hand and shaking sand from his boot with the other.

"Ohh!" Navi huffed in frustration, her butterfly wings fluttering like a bird ruffling its feathers in irritation. With an angry burst of fairy dust, she flew up to the top of a palm and vanished behind the broad, waxy leaves. Shaking his head in amused disgust, the Hylian tore off his other boot and stood up.

Soon after, I decided – once I was allowed to sleep when my duties were completed – to offer a prayer of thanks up to my ancestors for enabling me with the steadfast self-control of the Sheikah. Without it, I would have fallen backwards from my perch when Link's leggings joined the tunic and undershirt in the water.

Quickly averting my eyes from the unbroken expanse of his skin, I instead gazed at the magnificent view of the Desert Colossus towering in the distance and focused on slowing the erratic pace of my breathing. Only when I heard the telltale splash of water did I allow myself to relax and lower my eyes to the oasis pool. Link reemerged from the water with a shower of crystalline beads and a relieved sigh. It was then I realized a wet Link was as dangerously tempting to me as a dry, naked Link. Watching the clear droplets drip from his water-darkened gold hair to run down his shoulders and chest in streaming rivulets had my throat dryer than the Haunted Wasteland surrounding us. Fortunately, the rippling waters and glaring reflection of the sun were my saving grace. They shielded Link's lower half from my eyes, allowing me to maintain my sanity and composure.

Or so I thought….

"Sheik, why don't you join me?" Link invited merrily, swimming over to my chosen roost, a beautiful smile on his face.

Reacting automatically, I extracted the rag and vial of cleaning oil I kept hidden in my wrappings and laid them delicately across my lap. As I unsheathed the dagger at my hip, I said politely, formally, "I appreciate the offer, Hero, but I am afraid I must decline."

Frowning, Link watched me drench the rag with a little of the oil and rub the frayed cloth over the blade. "Why not? You must be burning up inside that outfit of yours."

"I am," I admitted truthfully, concentrating intently on the razor-edged metal in my hands.

"Then join me," he implored encouragingly, playfully splashing me with a little water. The feel of the cool, refreshing liquid on my face was almost enough to undo me in my longing to escape the heat. "You have no need to be shy around me."

"Modesty and insecurity are not what hold me back, Hero," I explained calmly, holding the knife up into the sunlight, examining it critically and trying my damnedest to keep my eyes from wandering over to Link. "I keep myself concealed because it is a code of the Sheikah. As I am an unmarried youth above the age of ten, the Sheikah law requires me to cover my face, hair and body to all save family members. Furthermore, as a Warrior, I am also required to wear my battlesuit at all times. Perhaps now you will understand why I must turn down your request."

"Oh…" Link murmured disappointedly. The dejected tone of his voice was strong enough to draw my attention away from my task. His downcast expression startled me.

"Why do you look so saddened, my friend?" I queried softly, watching him intently.

Raising his celestial blue eyes, Link's lips quirked faintly, sadly and he confessed, "Well… I was excited, for I assumed I would finally see your face. It's just… other than Navi, you are the only true, consistent friend I have had throughout this war. Yet, despite all we have shared together, I still know next to nothing about you, including what you look like. The color of your eyes and the shade of your hair is all I am privy to. I was hoping to learn more of you, even if it was as small piece as the knowledge of your face."

For a long moment, I stared at Link in awe, my heart stumbling in my chest. Finally, in a hesitant, halting voice, I asked, "Does… not knowing what I look like… affect your friendship with me…?"

"No!" Link exclaimed in an urgent gasp, one dripping hand shooting out of the water to clasp mine. Shaking his head, he repeated, gentler this time, less frantic, "No, Sheik. Never. I value your friendship more than anyone else's and it cannot be tarnished by a silly, petty thing as never seeing your face. Blame my prying on the natural curiosity twelve years of living with the Kokiri imbued me with."

Laughing softly, relief evident in my voice, I squeezed Link's hand amiably. "Think nothing of it, Hero," I insisted as our hands separated, not caring about the dampness of my finger wrappings. "You are not the only one who has expressed curiosity of my appearance." _Though you are the only one whose inquisitiveness means the most to me_….

Before either of us could comment further, Navi's aggravated voice sounded from the trees, "Link, are you done bathing yet?"

"Not yet, Navi," he called up to the annoyed fairy, and in a quieter voice, said to me, "I suppose that is my cue to speed up."

When I nodded in agreement, Link winked at me and dove underwater, swimming to the center of the pool. I allowed myself to watch the shadow of his submerged form under the water's surface for a moment longer before turning to the safe preoccupation of polishing my weapons. While I proceeded to painstakingly polish each throwing needle in my possession, Link swished his garments through the water, scrubbing at the stains in attempt to salvage his clothing. A peaceful silence stretched between us, yet neither felt the need to break it. Quiet was scarce in a time of war, when bloodcurdling screams, the clang of swords and the roar of monsters were as common as a nightingale's song. By unspoken consent, Link and I remained silent, enjoying the fleeting peace before we were required to plunge back into the death and horrors of the war.

Time passed slowly, marked only by the sun's progress across the sky and the lengthening shadows. Wordlessly, Link flung his sopping tunic, undershirt and leggings at me, and in complete synchrony with his chain of though, caught them and spread all three articles of clothing out on a flat stone in the sun so they could dry. Out of needles, I progressed to meticulously shining each metal link in my chain whip; in the water, Link was scooping up handfuls of gritty sand from the pool's bottom and using it to scrub the blood, gore and filth clinging to his skin. By the time he emerged shining and dripping from the oasis, every last weapon I kept hidden on my person gleamed with star-like brilliance. I kept my eyes averted from his pink-tinged, now-clean skin as he moved past me to stand in the sun, occupying myself with returning my arsenal to their proper places. The muted sound of sand against flesh warned me of Link's return, lending me time turn aside before temptation to sneak a peek could overcome me. Only after I heard the soft rustle of leggings being drawn over taut thigh muscles did I allow myself to turn around.

I could keep my sanity with a shirtless, bootless Link. A naked Link, however, was tempting fate and my level of self-control.

"Sheik." The sound of my name drew my attention to the Hero where he sat on a rock, pulling on his boots. "Earlier, you made a comment about me being Navi's master and forgetting that not everyone answers to one. Then, you again commented on my freedom to do as I please without asking your permission, for I am not your servant. It is not the first time I have heard you speak this way, but nevertheless, I find it odd. I have wanted to ask this for a long time, so, if I may…" He braced his elbows on his knees and stared at me with curious thoughtfulness, "what is it with you and your obsession with masters?"

I smiled gravely and although he could not see my expression behind the cowl, the alarm coloring his blue eyes indicated he sensed the cloud of dark humor radiating from me.

"Call it an affliction of my race, if you will," I responded bitterly and stood stiffly. "Sheikah Warriors are never free agents."

Link paused in the midst of pulling on his tunic, his eyes boring into mine. Yanking the green garb over his head, Link started hesitantly toward me and I, realizing my thoughtless slip of the tongue, backed away. Hurt flashed through Link's eyes like lightning breaching darkened sky, but he stilled his advance and I made no move to reduce the space between us, no matter how much I longed to do so.

"Sheik, what are you saying?" he asked, bewilderment and pain filling his voice. "That you are a slave?"

My teeth snapped together audibly. For such a reckless, sometimes dense youth, occasionally, he was far too perceptive for his own good… or mine.

Realizing we were in dangerous waters, I slipped back into my role as the Hero of Time's faithful shadow guide and produced my lyre from its wrappings. Link's face fell noticeably at the instrument's appearance, well aware I was steering the conversation back into charted territory. I had used this tactic on him many times before. Whenever he tried to further our friendship, to unwrap my secrets and unmask me, I retreated back into the shadows of Zelda's orders.

"Past, present, future," I recited with practiced ease, my eyes locking with Link's cerulean ones. "The Master Sword is a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream through time's river. The port for that ship is the Temple of Time. To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time's flows. Listen to the Requiem of Spirit. This melody will lead a child back to the desert."

After I strummed the haunting melody on my lyre, Link dutifully mimicked the notes on his ocarina, committing the song to memory. Before I could reach for a concealed Deku nut, strong fingers locked around my wrist, holding me in place. Startled, I glanced up to see Link's face inches away from mine. It was the closest I'd ever been to him, so close I could count the flecks of darker blue in his eyes, close enough to kiss. Instincts reeling, I recoiled from him, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Sheik, aren't you coming with me?" Link asked, eyes pleading and lonely.

"Not this time, Hero," I responded regretfully, my heart heavy in my chest. "You must help yourself through this temple. I have elsewhere I must be, other duties to perform."

The melancholy expression in Link's eyes tore at my heart. "Sheik… please do not run away from me again…" the Hylian pleaded in a whisper.

Pain stabbed at my chest as I dipped my fingers into the pouch at my hip, apologizing wistfully, "I'm sorry, Hero." Yanking my magic to me, I threw down a Deku nut, using its distracting burst of light and smoke to hide me while I teleported to the top of a palm tree, only ten feet above where Link stood now. I waited until Link had crossed the distance between the oasis to the Desert Colossus, watching him disappear into the temple's depths before jumping to the earth below. With a heavy heart and a sigh dancing around my lips, I left Link and the Wasteland behind.

My masters were waiting for me.

* * *

**A/N: **Whoo. First fanfiction written in two years, first yaoi fanfiction. Have to say, whenever I post a new story for a new category, I'm always a little nervous is people will like it or not, especially for a pairing with as little love as Link and Sheik, so I hope all my readers enjoyed the beginning of this story. For those of you who want to know how long this will be, I'm planning on five chapters, this one included, so there are four more to come. Now, for a few ending author's notes to tie it up and explain some of my additions to the story:

**Sheik's magic: **I cannot take credit for Sheik's magic act of physically pulling shadows over himself. I borrowed that idea from Seanan McGuire's book, _Rosemary and Rue_, so the credit goes to her and her alone. The way the faeries of her book use shadows to create illusions and disguised for themselves reminded me of the Sheikah, so I thought I'd incorporate that into the fiction.  
**Size of bombs: **I decided to make them more realistically-sized, since I'm sure they're only as big as Link's head in the game so the players can see it.  
**Size of Hyrule: **Since a country as big as Hyrule cannot possibly traversed in a matter of minutes, I lengthened the journey from Kakariko to the Gerudo Valley from four minutes to a week and the trek across the Haunted Wasteland from two minutes to an hour... with Sheik's fast, long legs at least =P.  
**Sheik's weapons: **I borrowed them from Super Smash Bros, although I have absolutely no idea if it's possible to hide that many weapons and a lyre on such a slender, tightly-clad young man. lol.

Anyway, I think that's all for now. Please, if you enjoyed this story, let me know. Also, if you find any spelling mistakes or grammar errors I missed during editing, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as possible. Thank you. =)


	2. Double Agent

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. If I did, Sheik would be his own person rather than Zelda in disguise, he'd be in more of the games, and the Sheikah would be more prominent characters. The only things I own are the characters Astar, Inianna and Io, and certain, made-up words of the Sheikah language.

**Warnings**: For this chapter, there is implied, non-graphical rape. For the story overall, Sheik is a male and separate from Zelda, there are spoilers for the manga and game, and I played around with the Sheikah culture and Sheik's appearance.

**A/N: **Since I, in my anal habits when it comes to writing, cannot half-ass anything, there are multiple phrases and words in this chapter that are written in the Sheikah language I created. Nothing crucial to the plot has been written in my made-up language, but for those of you who wish to know what the characters are saying, I have provided a translation for all the _italicized _Sheikah words at the bottom of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2: Double Agent

The gore crows were screaming their hoarse cries as they circled overhead, their black bodies hardly visible against the dark clouds perpetually cloaking the Castle Town ruins. Their shrill calls almost drowned out the ReDeads' moans. Almost.

Exiting the Temple of Time, I picked my way through the crumbling houses, the shattered cobblestone walkway and the groaning, rotting corpse zombies. As I ventured deeper into the town, an unwelcome, but familiar prickling chill crawled over the nape of my neck and down my spine. Being a Sheikah, one of the Shadow Folk, spirits and the undead never perturbed me. After all, we were kinsmen of sorts. Unlike Hylians, I was comfortable in the House of the Dead and the Shadow Temple, if my time spent there with Link was to be judged. But even then, my ease most likely originated from my natural talent to see through the Temple's illusions, whereas Link had to rely on the Lens of Truth. Shadows frightened and unsettled people merely because they were mysterious, deceiving and misunderstood. But they were _natural_. Shadow is an element, a part of nature and given time, one could overcome his fear of the dark.

However, the aura over Castle Town and Hyrule Castle was not natural. Shadows were not what shrouded the ruined town, but _evil_; an evil so potent it stretched my nerves to breaking point each and every time I stepped foot into the demolished city.

_Abomination,_ I hissed in revulsion, eying the ReDeads with distaste as I passed them. _Ganondorf and his power is an abomination; an unnatural blight on Hyrule. _

The ReDeads watched me with their hollow, pit-less eyes, but did not utter their paralyzing shriek. After all, they believed me a friend and so passively allowed me to cross through the destroyed marketplace to the craggy, black path leading to Ganondorf's castle. All too soon, the dark palace loomed before me, a perversion of its former beauty and grandeur. Its glassy, obsidian turrets and towers winked in the sinister, smudgy glow of the roiling lava pit below, and its thousands of windows stared at me like the empty eyes of the ReDeads. Seeing it filled me with cold dread, and my fight or flight instincts flared. I halted at the edge of the gurgling, spitting pit, gazing evenly at the floating structure. I knew what awaited me inside: blood, pain and humiliation. All I could hope was Ganondorf wasn't feeling particularly sadistic this night.

As if answering my thoughts, the retractable metal drawbridge clanked, slowly stretching itself out from the castle, across the lava pit to crash to the ashy rock by my feet. The castle's yawning black entrance seemed to taunt me, as if daring me to enter the mouth of the beast and penetrate its belly. Squaring my shoulders and clenching my jaw, I preceded as always – offering a prayer to the Goddesses to lend me their strength and fixing the image of Link and Zelda in my mind's eye, my two wards.

Going against every instinct and internal urge of my body and mind, I stepped onto the drawbridge and strolled as impassively as I could into Ganon's Castle. When I crossed the threshold of the palace, I heard the grate of metal as the drawbridge retracted and the portcullis slid shut. I was locked in. Gritting my teeth together, what little hope I had of leaving without incident vanished.

Ganondorf planned on keeping me for some time.

Mustering my reserves of strength and courage, I reminded myself of all Link and Zelda had done for Hyrule, for _me_. My sacrifices were what kept them free, and their freedom was crucial to the survival of this country and its people. I of all people knew how difficult it was to act when another was holding the leash.

The Beamos did not stir as I passed their pedestals, like the ReDeads, believing Ganondorf's words insisting I was an ally and was not to be harmed. I proceeded into the main room where the great tower spiraled upward through the ceiling and up into the sky. Crossing the bridge, I stroked one finger over the slick, opaque barrier surrounding the tower and stepped through the small, human-sized gap that appeared. As I began the long, winding journey to the top of the tower, I did not need to look back to know the barrier had sealed itself behind me.

Keese flapped overhead as I walked. The Dinofos, Stalfos and Iron Knuckles jeered and snarled at me as I passed. Catcalls and flirtatious gestures were thrown at me from the resident Gerudo. I ignored them all, continuing to the height of the tower where that wretched organ's ominous melody blared in my sensitive ears. Raising my fist, I rapped shortly on the towering, double doors. How the King of Evil heard me over his atrocious organ I shall never know. Yet, somehow, he did, and beckoned in his deep, rumbling voice, "Come in, pet."

Opening the door a crack, I slid inside and before I took more than a step into his chambers, I snuck promptly to my knee, bowing my head. "I have news, my lord Ganondorf," I greeted lowly, eyes to the floor, more out of an aversion of looking into his face than a sign of respect.

I heard the heavy clunk of his boots long before they entered my field of vision. Passively, I waited, anticipating his next move, and predictably, the King of Evil did not disappoint. Darkly tanned, thick fingers curled around the edge of my cowl, yanking it down.

"How many times must I tell you not to wear that horrid mask in my presence?" Ganondorf demanded brusquely, jerking my chin upward. Unable to avoid it now, I reluctantly met his eyes. Like mine, they were red. Unlike mine, his were the color of dried blood: dull and lifeless. I longed to tear my gaze from his warped face.

"My apologies, sire," I recited dutifully, though I felt no remorse. I despised revealing myself to Ganondorf, and it was only through a loophole that I was able to fool his blood bond and defy his direct orders to bare my face. He always commanded me to remove my mask. But I did not wear a mask. I wore a cowl. "I am still unaccustomed to exposing my face to those who are not of the Sheikah Tribe."

"Yes, yes, I have heard," the Gerudo king snapped impatiently. "But I have told you time and time again not to conceal your face, Sheik. I will not have you hide yourself from me." His thick lips curled into a sneer as he stared at me, a familiar expression of lust creeping into his dark face. Stroking his thumb across one of the silver-white, triangular _rhyfel'aira_ stripes marking my cheeks, he purred, "Such a handsome boy…" His grin stretched into a lecherous sneer as he caressed my lips with the pad of his thumb, "Such a pretty, talented mouth…"

What little color I had drained from my face, my back stiffening. However, I would not break contact with his eyes, no matter how much I longed to. I refused to show weakness or fear.

For once, luck was on my side. Ganondorf released me, striding away with his hands clasped behind his back, leaving me free to bow my head and stare at the floor. I wanted nothing more than to yank my cowl back up above my nose, to hide myself behind its protection. Without it, I felt naked. I was comfortable baring my face only to Zelda and Impa.

"So, my pet, tell me of these tidings you bring," the usurper king commanded, seating himself loftily on his throne and motioning me forward with the crook of a wide finger.

At his command, the blood bond surged up inside me, pressing against my vocal chords. Standing stiffly, I halted a few feet from him, arms crossed over my chest as I reported, "I regret to inform you, sire, but the Hero of Time has once against thwarted you. He has defeated Bongo Bongo and awakened the Sage of Shadow, thereby cleansing the Temple and increasing his strength."

Since removing my cowl, a sneer had twisted his face. Now, that sneer abruptly warped into a scowl. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling in relish.

"Yes… Unfortunately, I am aware of this nuisance," Ganondorf grunted, irritation coloring his tone, his bushy, orange-red eyebrows drawing together. "Early this morning, I received a messenger hawk from Aveil posted at the Fortress. She wrote to inform me of her success in capturing the Hero of Time, who she believed to be journeying to the Spirit Temple to awaken the final Sage." Here, the Gerudo's eyes narrowed dangerously, and a sickening sense of foreboding swept over me. "However, her triumph was short-lived. A short while ago, she sent me another hawk informing the boy had managed to worm his way out of his cell, but not, it seems, without help. She reported to me that several of her patrolling guards had been knocked unconscious, yet none saw the attacker. Also, Aveil claims that moments before she and the others descended into the boy's cell, she heard music; a melody played on an instrument sounding curiously like a lyre."

Fear sunk its claws into the pit of my stomach, yet, in spite of my anxiety, I carefully composed my expression so none of my internal emotions revealed themselves. Without moving my lips, I uttered a silent spell and felt the pressure of my lyre against my back slacken. Arching an eyebrow in an expression of mild, bored curiosity, I inquired calmly, "What is it you are suggesting, sire?"

"It is not I who is suggesting something, but Aveil," he countered coolly, rust-colored eyes scrutinizing me. "She seems to believe the lyre she heard belonged to you and that you were the one who freed the kid."

Heart hammering in my chest, I sighing with feigned weariness and responded mildly, but truthfully, "Aveil and I have never seen eye-to-eye. We butt heads more than allies should. But you grew up with her, sire, so surely you are aware of her spiteful nature. Perhaps she hastily jumped to her conclusion, _hoping _it was I who freed the Hero so I would be disposed of. I know not. However, it is not Aveil's suspicions which concern me, but yours. Do _you_ believe I broke the Hero of Time out of his cell, sire?"

"I most certainly hope you are not responsible for this… misfortune, Sheik," Ganondorf hedged vaguely, threateningly, but not directly responding with a yay or nay. "You are my most trusted spy and I do not take kindly to traitors. I would hate to have to break that pretty neck of yours."

Silently, I sent a prayer of thanks up to the Goddesses that Ganondorf trusted me enough not to issue a command. Had he directly asked me if I freed Link, my blood bond with him would have forced me to tell the truth. So long as no questions requiring honest answers were asked, I was free to lie.

"I can assure you, sire, I was not involved with the Hero of Time's escape," I lied serenely, "for I was following a lead on Princess Zelda's whereabouts these past several moons. If I may, sire, the lyre is a common musical instrument of the Sheikah. True, few of my tribe remains after the Great Betrayal, but during the time I served under the Royal Family, there were other Sheikah living in the castle other than the princess's caretaker, Impa, and myself. It is not so absurd to presume they are still loyal to her, the last living member of the Royal Family. It is quite possible one of the Sheikah freed the Hero of Time at the behest of Princess Zelda."

"Hmm…" Ganondorf hummed speculatively, stroking his pointed orange beard. "Sheik, do _you _believe Zelda is utilizing the Sheikah's prowess to aid the boy?"

"I do," I confirmed, carefully censoring myself as I continued so as not to reveal too much of the truth, "Not only that, but hiding the princess. It _would _explain how she has managed to elude you for these past seven years. Had she been in the company of Hylians or some other race, I would have found her the day I joined your service. However, as I have been unsuccessful thus far, I can only assume the Sheikah are aiding her. I am only one Sheikah and there is strength in numbers. It would be a simple matter for the Shadow Tribe to combine their strength and overwhelm my own power, thereby successfully eluding me."

For a moment, I watched my hated master ponder my statement before interjecting, "However, I am branching off topic. To return to the issue at hand, I can easily quell Aveil's suspicions about me." Fluidly, I withdrew my lyre from its wrappings and displayed the broken halves to the Gerudo king. "As you can see, sire, my lyre has been split in two." I plucked an unbroken string and it emitted a flat note. "Not very pretty and impossible to play."

The suspicion lifted from Ganondorf's face and he smiled crookedly. "Ahh, Sheik," he purred as I returned the broken lyre its place. "Forgive me for doubting you. But in times of war, one can never be too cautious."

"Of course, sire," I responded dutifully. "I bring other news as well, news that shall be of more use to you than my late tidings of the Hero's actions."

"Go on," the king urged with a flick of his dark fingers.

"Despite my suspicions of the Sheikah aiding Princess Zelda and their continued success to evade me, I believe I am finally on their trail." From behind my shabby tabard, adorned with the Sheikah emblem, I procured my false evidence: one of Zelda's worn, silk gloves. Showing him the crest of the Royal Family sewn onto the hand in gold thread, I narrated truthfully, "I found this glove atop Death Mountain. Signs of an encampment where also present, not three days old. I am sure the princess and her Guardians were there, and are venturing deeper into the mountain range beyond. A little more time, and I am convinced the princess will be in my grasp."

It was an age old game of cat and mouse I played, albeit with an imaginary mouse. To bypass the dangers of my blood bond with Ganondorf, Zelda never revealed to me where she was hiding, where she planned to be, so if he ever directly asked me where she was, I could honestly confess my ignorance. It was a dangerous game, yes, and in the early years, it almost ended on several occasions with Ganondorf as the victor due to intercepted letters. After those close calls, Zelda set scheduled times of when we would meet again and a few hours before the appointed time, I would track down a nearby Gossip Stone, through which she, Impa or Inianna would disclose their location to me. However, every now and then, when Ganondorf's troops drew too close to her hiding place, I would plant a false trail and lead them away on a wild goose chase, such as I was doing now. It was true Zelda and the Sheikah had been camping up in Death Mountain three days ago, but since I knew not where she was now, I was free to report my assumptions regarding her next destination. For all I knew, she _was _venturing deeper into the mountain range.

Ganondorf smiled his approval and stood, approaching me. "Ahh, Sheik… you are an excellent tracker. I have faith that you will not fail me. Soon, I will have both the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage in my hands, and it will all be thanks to you," he praised, tucking his fingers under my chin and lifting my head. This time, I kept my eyes trained to the floor. But the Gerudo king seemed not to mind, occupying himself with caressing my cheeks, jaw and hair. I fought the urge to slap his hands away. Sauntering behind me, his broad, calloused fingers trailed over loose hair at the nape of my neck. In a voice like poisoned honey, he cooed, "You are such a good little shadow. So much more reliable and useful than that worthless Dark Link."

His hand was on my chin, yanking my head backwards so he could meet my eyes. He grinned, then released me. Closing my eyes, I averted my head in repulsion from his moist, cloying breath on my neck. Ganondorf's fingers were sliding over my shoulders and chest now, tracing the lines of the sinewy, but defined muscles beneath my battlesuit and dragon-scale armor. Desperate to keep myself in control, to not fight back and remain relaxed and submissive, I imagined it was Link touching me, not Ganondorf. I pictured his hands caressing my face and chest, his breath on my neck and his body behind mine.

The illusion I built in my mind worked – I felt myself loosen as the tension left my body – but it worked a little too well, and rather than saving myself, I condemned myself.

"There's a good pet," Ganondorf purred, shattering my fantasy. With a sinking horror in my heart, I realized he was unwrapping my bindings. "You deserve a reward for all your hard work."

_No_… I whispered to myself, squeezing my eyes shut. _Goddesses, no_… _Not again_….

But by then, I realized my mistake and knew it was too late. By allowing myself to relax, Ganondorf had misinterpreted the change in my body language as a sign of submissiveness… of willingness….

_No_….

I did not cry. I did not scream. I did not beg. I had learned the first time such actions only worsened it, only stoked the sadistic flames of my tormenter's nature. All I could do was obey his lusty commands and lay quietly while he had his way with me. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, ignoring the searing pain and remembering I was doing this to protect Zelda and Link. For them, I would allow Ganondorf to rape me a thousand times over. For them, I would sacrifice anything: my honor, my blood, my life. Better to let him violate me than Link or Zelda merely because I rebelled against his torture and allowed them to fall into his hands.

They were valuable, irreplaceable, the hope and future of all Hyrule.

I was an expendable shadow.

* * *

After Ganondorf left – presumably to find a Gerudo woman to bed so as not to inadvertently kill his Sheikah spy with his insatiable lust – although I was covered in sweat, blood and semen, I did not bother cleaning myself up. Gingerly, I picked myself off the floor. Every inch of my body screamed in protest whenever I moved. My skintight battlesuit chaffed against open wounds and pressed painfully tight to newly acquired bruises as I rewrapped my bindings and drew my cowl over my face.

The trip out of the castle was lengthier than my walk in. Pain lanced through me with each step, so intense I longed for nothing more than to lay down and never move again. But I forced myself to continue onward, reminding myself of the harsher punishments I had endured. The agony was always more intense when Ganondorf was displeased with me. By comparison, my current pain was no more than a bee sting. Then again, I had never been required to meet with Zelda directly after one of Ganondorf's… sessions, when the farthest I had to walk was to my chambers where I could recover. Today, I was deprived of such a luxury. And while it was impossible to gauge the time with the black storm clouds darkening the sky day and night, my gut told me I was late for Zelda's meeting.

The castle seemed empty as I hobbled my way down the tower, the only movement being the moths fluttering around the lit torches and the rustle of the Keese hanging upside-down from the rafters. Mercifully, I was able to exit the palace without enduring the jibs and comments about being Ganondorf's favorite plaything from the resident Gerudo and monsters. Had any remark struck a nerve, I was unsure if I would have been able to maintain a level head and restrain a dagger to the throat.

As the metal drawbridge retracted behind me with rhythmic clanking, I allowed my composure to slip and sagged weakly against a jagged rock, breathing heavily from exhaustion and pain. Knocking my head none-too-gently against the stone, I tilted my eyes toward the swirling black-brown clouds overhead. I did not know how much longer I could withstand Ganondorf's abuses before he completely broke me. I had lasted five years thus far, but even I had a threshold. All I could hope for was the strength I needed to stay intact long enough for Link and Zelda to destroy him. For them, I had to hold myself together, even if they never knew what I sacrificed for them. Shoving away from the rock, I allowed myself to abandon my rigid, upright posture and adopt a hunched, limping stride. It was easier than pretending all was well.

Outside Castle Town's gates, the sky was nearly as dark as the clouds blanketing the demolished town, informing me just how late I was. Io lifted her head from a bloody rabbit carcass, forked tongue slipping out to flick over the fangs curving down from her muzzle as she turned one pupil-less, yellow eye toward me. Abandoning her meal, she trotted over to me on silent hooves, and I greeted my _ny'tiall_ horse with a weary pat on her slick, black cheek. Careful of her thorn-vine mane and the short, but sharp spines protruding from her shoulders, I stroked her long neck, eyeing the saddle mounted on her back. The thought of sitting in the hard saddle and tolerating the jostling movements of Io's canter had me cringing with the anticipation of added pain. However, _ny'tiall _were known for their speed – one reason among the many why the Sheikah often chose the frightening, demonic equines as their steeds over normal horses – and Io could easily cut the two-hour journey to my next destination in half.

So, with a grunt of pain, I swung myself up into Io's saddle, wrapping my hands around the two long spikes jutting out from her withers. Bridles could not be used with _ny'tiall_: the spines on their faces destroyed the leather straps and no bit could withstand their sharp my tongue, I directed Io alongside the western wall of Castle Town, standing up slightly in the stirrups as she charged into a full gallop. The surrounding trees and stone walls dissolved into a featureless dark blur as we sped by. Epona would have killed herself trying to keep up with Io.

The pain was excruciating. While standing in the stirrups reduced lessened the severity of my pain, nonetheless, I felt the bone-rattling shocks reverberating through my bruised limbs with every hard clop of Io's soundless hooves; felt the burn and tremors in my weary leg muscles from holding myself aloft; felt the bloody tear of my flesh as wounds widened from hunching over my _ny'tiall_'s thorny neck. At the end of our hour long gallop, the Zora River snaking away from distant western wall of Castle Town, the anguish stabbing at my body had increased tenfold since leaving Ganondorf's chambers.

Slowing her gallop to a gentle trot, Io splashed through the cool, shallow waters of the river, climbing up the other side of the muddy banks before pulling herself to a complete halt. Stiffly, I dropped to the ground, pain lancing up through my legs and back. My knees would have buckled under me had I not thrown an arm over Io's neck to steady myself. However, in exchange, my right hand was shredded to scarlet ribbons for grabbing onto her thorn mane. Steadying myself, I limped into a copse of tightly clustered trees, Io following behind me, drawn by the smell of fresh blood. The trees all but swallowed us in murky darkness, blotting out the stars and moon with their leaves and branches. Under me, I felt the ground slope downwards and a moment later, my eyes cut through the gloom, picking out the small, overgrown cavern directly before us. Brushing aside the verdant moss and vines hanging over the gaping black entrance, I ventured into the cool, damp grotto, and while I could not hear her, I knew Io was following behind me. Not only did my _ny'tiall _easily fit inside the low-ceilinged tunnel, standing at only fourteen hands, but she lacked unease many horses had of dark, cramped, enclosed places.

One hand braced against the wet, slimy tunnel wall, I worked my way down, down, down into the grotto depths, fighting not to surrender to the pain. At last, the tunnel opened up to a small cavern, lit with the mysterious silver glow of a thousand firefly-like insects. Slick moss carpeted fallen stones and scraggly grass grew in clumps around tiny, underground pools. I bypassed all of these and knelt before a gray, rough hewn stone, brushing aside the vegetation concealing the Sheikah emblem carved into its face.

Under normal circumstances, I would have used the Gossip Stones outside the Temple of Time to communicate with Zelda, rather than traveling an hour to this little secret grotto just beyond the castle walls. However, considering the nature of our conversations, carrying on as such directly under Ganondorf's eye was moronic. Here, I was outside his domain and was provided with privacy and protection.

Laying a hand on the Gossip Stone, directly over the eye, fingers splayed, I closed my eyes and chanted softly, calling upon my shadow magic:

"_I am the child of blood and night,_

_Destined to serve the light._

_Shadows, illusions, and lies,_

_Play no tricks on mine eyes._

_By the shadows that bind me,_

_I call upon this Stone._

_Carry my voice_

_Wherever it may roam._

_By the blood in my veins,_

_And the words I impart,_

_Find the one who holds me_

_With a spell on my heart._"

As I recited the final stanza, with the hand I had cut on Io's mane, I smeared my blood over the teardrop carved below the eye. My blood shone dark and glassy. A moment later, it soaked into the stone and vanished, like a horse draining a watering trough. Incantation complete, I removed my hand from the Gossip Stone and sat back on my heels, patiently waiting. Before me, the Gossip Stone trembled, the engraved mouth underneath the Sheikah emblem falling open to pit-less maw. Through the now gaping mouth, a musical, feminine voice asked, "Sheik? Sheik, is that you?"

"Yes, it is I," I responded formally, frowning slightly. I could not identify the speaker. She sounded like a child. "Forgive me for the delay. I know I am late. I was kept at the castle longer than I anticipated. Tell me, where am I to meet Princess Zelda?"

"At the Forest Temple," the girl responded, and suddenly, I knew who she was: Saria, the Sage of Forest. "Shall I inform Princess Zelda of your arrival?"

"Thank you, but that will not be necessary," I declined politely, silently thanking Zelda for choosing a location I could warp to. "I will be there before you even reach her chambers."

"Then I shall wait for you by the Temple entrance and guide you to her," Saria said with finality, the message ending as the Gossip Stone shook once more, its stone mouth sliding back into place.

Groaning, I heaved myself to my knees and turned to face Io, holding out my injured hand so she could lick off the blood staining my palm and stroking her glossy neck with the other. "_Ih'loid_," I murmured softly, staring into one yellow eye. "_Goht ef giyrf_."

With a gentle snort, Io turned around and trotted mutely away, her onyx body vanishing into darkness of the tunnel. None knew where the _ny'tiall _went when we had no need of them, nor from where they hailed, only that they would bear no rider but the Sheikah and had been our chosen steeds since the dawn of time. However, I strongly believed Io spent her spare time at Lon Lon Ranch. Despite her alarming appearance, the farm girl Malon seemed quite taken with her and had no scruples in spoiling her rotten.

Removing the broken lyre from my wrappings, I uttered the counter-spell to undo my earlier charm, and the golden body snapped back together, whole once again. Briefly, I tested the strings to assure they were in tune, then proceeded to strum the sweet, gentle melody of the Minuet of Forest. The song's sparkling, acid green mist swirled around me, disintegrating my body into nothingness and carrying me out of the grotto, up into the night sky. Soaring overhead, I watched as the flat landscape of Hyrule Field transformed into a rolling emerald sea of trees. The lush foliage of the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods seemed to stretch endlessly for miles, broken only by Deku Tree's monstrous black trunk and boughs. However, the withered trunk of the Deku Tree was soon obscured by a multitude of interlocking branches and leaves as the song's magic descended into the trees surrounding the Sacred Forest Meadow. As the verdant mist gradually waned, my body reformed... and with it, the agony.

The first thing I noticed – beside my renewed pain – was the cheery, upbeat tune echoing throughout the meadow, a tune played on an ocarina. For a split second, I wondered if Link was somehow here as well. But then the song ceased and a young girl's voice called out, "Sheik! Over here!"

Turning my gaze to the elevated entrance of the Forest Temple, I saw Saria waving at me, an ocarina in her hand. As I walked toward her, I saw her bend down and a moment later, a rope ladder unraveled at my feet, leading up to the temple. Normally, it would have been a simple task for me to reach the temple's entrance with a well-placed jump. As it was, my body cringed at the very thought, so I accepted the assistance handed to me and climbed the ladder.

"You made it," Saria said cheerfully when I reached the top, smiling beatifically up at me, cornflower blue eyes glittering. Now I understood why Link always seemed so joyful, no matter what the situation. The Kokiri were a happy race. "Come now. We mustn't keep Princess Zelda waiting. I shall take you to her."

Wrapping a small, child-like hand around three of my fingers, the green-haired Kokiri girl pulled me into the Forest Temple, like a toddler leading her parent. Upon our entrance, platinum blond, silver- and white-haired heads lifted, a myriad of scarlet eyes watching from behind long bangs, cowls, veils and high, stiff collars. Sheikah were scattered all throughout the Forest Temple's entry way, sharpening their daggers on whet stones, strumming their lyres, or conversing with each other. Practically all activity ceased as Saria led me past them. Even with the tiny Sage of Forest holding onto my hand, I walked by as upright and naturally as my pained body would allow, chin held high. While I did not acknowledge a single crimson gaze of my tribe, I could feel their eyes on me, their suspicion as heavy as the Lost Wood's humid jungle air.

My fellow Sheikah did not trust me. They thought my role as a double agent was more risk than it was worth. Not because they feared a fatal mistake on my part that would compromise Zelda's whereabouts, but because they feared I would intentionally betray them to Ganondorf. They were not convinced I was truly on their side. The Sheikah disapproved of my reporting Link's progress and location to Ganondorf, though Zelda had conceded it was a necessary evil. They were convinced the power the Gerudo king had permitted me to hold over the past five years would corrupt me, turn my loyalties over to him. But they were blind and naïve. Never would I betray Zelda. I owed her my life three times over. I owed Ganondorf nothing but retribution for raping Hyrule, raping its people and raping _me_.

I suffered through the distrusting stares with dignity and grace, ignoring the whispers and glares as Saria towed me to the Forest Temple's Grand Hall. Halting before the elevator situated in the center of the room, Saria turned to face me, saying, "Princess Zelda is in the basement's gallery room, where you and Link fought Phantom Ganon. The guards already know to let you pass."

"Thank you, Saria, Sage of Forest," I said gratefully, fisting my hand over my heart and bowing at the waist, only to stiffen as white-hot pain shot through me. Bowing had not been a wise idea. It stretched me the wrong way.

Oblivious to the pain I felt, the Kokiri girl giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. Bluebell eyes sparkling with mirth, she said, "Link was right. You _are _far too formal." Then with a parting wave, Saria half-ran, half-skipped through one of the temple doors. Frowning slightly to myself at her comment, the elevator clicked as my weight settled on it and with a high-pitched hum, carried me down through the cracked marble floor. The containing darkness melted away as the elevator opened up to the basement floor, lit by softly glowing torches. The guards standing watch by the great, blue steeled door barring entrance to the gallery did not question my advance and allowed me to pass with grudging reluctance. Hurrying inside, I quickly climbed the spiral steps to the raised, circular floor situated in the center of the gallery.

A heavy, round wooden table had been set up on the chipped floor, overflowing with scrolls of parchment, maps and a number of assorted odds and ends. Three people were seated around the table. One was Princess Zelda, a shining beacon of gold in the dark, dank room. She had her back to me and was pouring over a lengthy scroll, completely unaware of my silent arrival. The remaining two were Sheikah, the siblings Inianna and Astar.

As he was seated directly across from me, it was Astar's eyes who found me first. Behind my cowl, my lips pressed into a line as thin as a knife's blade. Immediately, his expression hardened, his severe scowl and knitted brows warping the two lightning bolt _rhyfel'aira _jutting upward from his jaw and the third slashed across his forehead. With a flick of his shoulder-length hair – which, despite his obvious youth, was white, lacking even the faintest hint of blond my own possessed – he leaned back in his seat, folding his bare, muscled arms over the glinting metal of his chest plate. His garnet eyes, a shade darker than my own, narrowed in intense loathing.

The feeling was mutual for both parties. Astar and I were childhood rivalries, a conflict which escalated all the more when I became a double agent, fueled by both his jealousy and the distrust he shared with the other Sheikah. Furthermore, my – shall we say – lack of interest in the female sex generated much of his hostility, just as his arrogant, power-hungry and merciless nature infuriated me. To top it all off, he was Impa's son… and my foster brother.

"Well, well, well... Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence," Astar sneered condescendingly, his lips curling to reveal his filed teeth.

Zelda and Inianna glanced immediately in my direction. As her eyes were more accustomed to the gloom, Inianna spotted me first. Like a rose unfurling its velvety petals and baring them to the sun, joy bloomed in her scarlet irises as a smile spread across her face. The silvery, starburst _rhyfel'aira _under her eyes seemed to shimmer, radiating the pure delight my presence brought the contrary to her elder brother, Inianna adored me, making her – and Impa – the only Sheikah who honestly trusted me. Had she not been in Zelda's presence, which required her to be on her best behavior, the girl would have flung herself into my arms. As it was, I was thankful she was chained to her seat. I had not healed enough for her exuberance. Instead, she winked at me and fiddled excitedly with the long, silver braid snaking out from under her dark blue hood.

Finally, after blinking several times, Zelda's sapphire blue eyes focused on my face and she gasped, "Sheik?"

Tugging down my cowl, I offered her a wane, contrite smile and apologized, "I am sorry I am so late, my lady."

"Oh, thank Nayru!" Standing so fast she nearly knocked over her chair, Zelda hiked up the skirts of her lavender dress and ran to me, her long golden hair flying and heels clacking on the marble floor. Completely unprepared for her, I staggered backwards with a grunt of surprise and pain as she launched herself at me, hugging me tightly around the middle. So much for propriety.

Despite the pain Zelda's arms caused by pressing on my bruised back, my shocked expression immediately softened as I stared down at the top of her blond head. Smiling faintly, I lightly wrapped my arms around the princess's delicate body and returned her hug. Often times, I forgot that although Zelda was the rightful ruler of Hyrule and with Impa's aid, had commanded a Sheikah army for the past seven years, she was still very much a child in many aspects. The princess had not been forced to grow up as quickly as I had under Ganondorf's service and not nearly as fast as Link, thrust from childhood directly into adulthood.

"Oh, Sheik, I was so worried," Zelda sobbed, withdrawing her head from my chest. Unshed tears swam in the depths of her ocean blue eyes. "When you failed to arrive on time, I feared something dreadful happened to you. You are never late, so the more the hours dragged on, the more I grew to fear your absence."

"I did not mean to worry you, my lady," I assured her, running my thumbs under her eyes to catch her tears. "Something _did _happen, but it was nothing I could not or have not handled before."

Though my tone remained ever respectful, there was a warning undercurrent, begging her not to delve further into my vagueness. Only the slightest hint of a frown touched the princess's beautiful face, but nevertheless, she sensed my unwillingness to speak further on the matter and granted my unspoken request. It was one of the many things I loved about Zelda. She understood the burden I carried, being bound to both her and Ganondorf. Therefore, she avoided issuing me direct commands as much as possible, allowing me both the freedom of choice and the privacy of my own thoughts and secrets. Lacing her fingers with mine, she led me to the table with a smile. "In any case, I am relieved you are here and unharmed."

"Yes. _Thrilled_…." Astar sneered sarcastically, folding his hands behind his head and glaring at me with unrestrained hate. Inianna threw an elbow into her brother's side, earning a thoroughly gratifying grunt from him. While I fought not to smile, I did plant a soft kiss on the top of her head as I passed.

_Goddesses, watch over this girl. She has a good head on her shoulders_….

Fluffing her skirts as she settled herself delicately onto her chair, the Hylian princess motioned to the empty seat on her right with a gloved hand, and offered, "Would you like to sit?"

The thought of sitting in my current state was almost as appealing as the notion of an all-day trip on horseback. "Thank you, my lady, but if you have no objections, I would prefer to stand," I declined politely, but moved to stand by her side. She flashed me a satisfied smile – clearly pleased with my compromise – and conceded, "Of course." Across the table, Astar's scowl deepened, no doubt wishing he was the one with the honor of standing at Zelda's right.

Folding her hands daintily in her lap, sitting in a straight, regal pose, Zelda turned to me and commanded formally, all business now, "So, Sheik, please, tell me what you have to report."

The "please" softened the strength of her command, my jaw and tongue aching only a little as the blood bond injected an insistent, but gentle compulsion to relay my news to the princess. Both the ache and urge vanished the instant I began to speak. "Ganondorf has swallowed the bait, wholeheartedly believing you are retreating farther into the mountains. He has no clue you are in fact infiltrating deeper into Hyrule and are recruiting the Gorons and Zora into your army. Personally, I believe it was your glove that so readily convinced him. If I may say so, milady, planting the 'evidence' was a brilliant idea on your part."

Zelda grinned, her blue eyes twinkling like the sun's reflection off Lake Hylian at high noon. "And what of Link?"

"Battling the trials of the Spirit Temple as we speak," I reported slowly, feeling my own hesitation. However, the blood bond would not allow me to gloss over my thoughtless blunders, and with a bitter taste in my throat, I added, "I must confess, Princess, I was not cautious enough. Foolish as it was, I assumed Link would be safe once he had crossed the collapsed bridge at Gerudo Valley. What I did not count on was that Mutoh's fool carpenters, who were trying to repair the bridge, were captured by the Gerudo and Link, in his rash heroics, ignored my parting warnings about the thieves and set off to free the poor bastards rather than stealing away to the Haunted Wasteland as I instructed. Naturally, after he freed the prisoners, their absence alerted the Gerudo and he was captured by Aveil, the captain guard and third-in-command. I regret to inform you of this, but before could I arrived to fetch him, the Gerudo… did torture him."

Zelda gasped sharply, her gloved hands flying to her mouth and her sapphire eyes widening. My jaw tightened and again, I berated myself for allowing such pain to befall Link. I had vowed to protect him and I failed….

Astar uttered a dirty curse in the Shadow Tongue, an oath directed at me. I glared at him, but held my tongue. Had Zelda spoken our language and understood what my step-brother said, then I _would _have spoken up. Still, Hylian or not, it was disrespectful to speak such foul words in Zelda's presence.

"Fear not, my lady. I found and freed Link before any further harm could befall him," I continued blandly, reverting my eyes back to the princess. "From there, I warped us to the Desert Colossus and brought him to the Great Fairy who dwells there. She healed his wounds and he is well of mind and body now thanks to her magic."

"Had you not left him in the first place, then the Hero of Time would not have been injured to the point of requiring a Great Fairy to save him!" Astar snapped furiously, his filed teeth glinting in the dim light.

"Astar..." Inianna warned in a low voice, shooting him an annoyed look.

Returning his red glare, I retorted coolly, "Link was hurt, yes, but not grievously so. He would have healed easily within the span of a few days without the fairy's aid. He is the holder of the Triforce of Courage, not some young maid from Castle Town. He is stronger than you seem to credit him for."

"Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is you left him behind and that cannot be forgiven," he pressed, leering at me savagely. "You are still at fault for allowing this misfortune to befall the Hero of Time."

"If you recall, my original duty to Link's was merely to drop him hints about the Sages, teach him the Temples' songs, and guide him with a gentle, invisible hand," I reminded him icily. "It is only because I have developed a friendship with him that I have recently come to aiding him directly, which, as you well know, is fraught with dangers in itself. Should one of Ganondorf's other spies see me helping the Hero of Time, all we have worked for would be for naught. Surely, I could not ride side-by-side with Link into the heart of the Gerudo Fortress – they are all acquainted with me – nor could I follow from a distance for fear of being spotted by one of the guards. Not even a simple concealment spell would allow me to safely watch him from above. The desert sun burns away all spells crafted by shadow magic, especially magic weak as mine."

At this, Astar grinned condescendingly, his sharpened teeth flashing in the torchlight. "Ahh, so Mother's protégé admits he is not as mighty as he wishes us all to believe. Not that I ever fell for your flawless, loyal Shadow Warrior act."

Glaring at my step-brother, I said darkly, "Despite what you may assume, _brother, _I have never thought myself infallible. Perfection does not exist, and even if it did, it certainly would not live within me. I have made more than my fair share of mistakes."

Before Astar could come back with a barb, Zelda cut in sharply, fixing both of us with a firm, warning stare, "Boys, that is enough. We have not gathered here to listen to your petty arguments. We have far more pressing matters at hand than this tiring rivalry of yours." Staring at me, the depths of her oceanic eyes radiated her disapproval and seemed to say, _Do not add to this. You know better._

"My apologies, Princess," I murmured, bowing respectfully to her and backed down in spite of my longing to acquaint my dagger with the side of Astar's throat.

Astar, however, did not surrender quite so placidly. Ignoring Zelda's command to sit back down, he stalked up to me until we were practically nose-to-nose, his shoulder-length white hair brushing against my face. Furiously, he snarled, "Mistakes, you say? Oh, I am familiar with mistakes, for the greatest mistake to ever befall my family was when my mother _insisted _on taking in a worthless, parentless, street urchin like you!"

"_Enough_!"

Inianna wedged herself between us, shoving us apart as Zelda's command rang throughout the room like crackling lightning. Staring down at my step-sister's hooded head, I was intensely grateful for her interference. As my hands were balled into fists at my sides, the distance between Astar and I reduced the urge to break his nose.

"Astar, sit down," the princess ordered sharply, pointing to his seat. "_Now_, or I swear on Nayru, I will strip you of your title. Is this how a general acts?"

Not even a firebrand like Astar would dare disobey a direct command from his mistress, least of all when his position of power was threatened. With a severe lack of grace, he threw himself down onto his chair and refused to look at me, sulking like a child rather than the twenty year old man he was.

Staring between us, brows furrowed and rose eyes troubled, Inianna pleaded desperately, "Would you two _please _stop fighting? This _cannot_ go on. Like it or not, you two are family, so start acting like it!"

Astar bristled. "That _dafiddma _is _not _my fam-!"

"Yes he is!" Inianna interjected sharply, glaring at her brother. "Family is not limited to shared blood. We are part of the same race, the same tribe, the same culture. We are _all _family one way or another, and Sheik is no different. He is a Sheikah. He is _family_. Quit acting like a child."

"Thank you, Inianna, that will do," Zelda sighed wearily, massaging her temples as the silver-haired girl returned to her seat. With a motion of her hand, she glanced at me and asked, "Do you have anything else to report, Sheik?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I confessed heavily, cursing the blood bond for forcing me to unearth my second mistake and present it to the princess. "When I reported to Ganondorf before returning here, he informed me of a message Aveil had sent him, in which she detailed Link's escape from the fortress. According to the letter, just before they entered the cell to find he had vanished, she heard music played on a lyre. Knowing I possess a lyre, Aveil suggested I was the one who freed him." Zelda sucked in a surprised breath, and I hurriedly explained, "Have no fear, my lady. It took some quick thinking on my part, but I managed to convince Ganondorf I was not responsible for Link's escape, namely by using a spell to break my lyre in half, rendering it unplayable."

A relieved breath escaped the Hylian's lips, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Astar's sneering voice cut in, "Incredible. Two near-fatal blunders in one day. Getting sloppy, are we not, Sheik?"

With an exasperated groan, Inianna let her skull thunk against the table and Zelda shook her head wearily, eyes sliding closed. Before either woman could interrupt, I inquired stiffly, "Astar, is it possible for you and I to tolerate each other's presence long enough to avoid exchanging barbs or blows? Inianna is right: we _are _brothers. Besides, this hostility is not only grating on Inianna and Her Highness's nerves, but mine as well."

Chuckling derisively, Astar's blood-red eyes glittered maliciously as he hissed in a patronizing voice, "Aww, what ails you, Sheiky? You are always stoic, yet you seem more uptight today than usual. Did Ganondorf shove his sword hilt up your ass during your visit?"

There was nothing I could do to prevent it. The comment hit home and before I could compose my expression into a mask of indifference, I flinched violently. Right then and there, I knew it was over. My secret was out. Without my cowl covering my face, I had nothing to hide behind, nothing to cover the pain and humiliation in my eyes or the set of my mouth; nothing to stop Zelda from reading my expression, her reprimand at Astar dying on her lips; nothing to prevent the horror dawning over the princess's beautiful face or terrified widening of Inianna's eyes.

"Sheik?" Zelda inquired hesitantly, her voice wavering. I couldn't do it. I couldn't meet Zelda's eyes, could not stand to see the pity and horror in those ocean pools. Instead, I allowed my lids to drift closed slowly and concentrated on breathing deeply.

Rough, bandaged fingers slid over my cheeks and even without opening my eyes, I knew they belonged to Inianna. "Sheik?" her voice whispered, strained and cracking. "_Foh'dwar_, look at me. Tell me why you reacted so strongly to Astar's vile comment..."

Mutely, I turned my head away from her gentle touch, squeezing my eyes closed all the tighter, my eyebrows drawn into a tense V. No matter how hard I concentrated, all my excuses and lies slipped through my grasping fingers like water. This time, there was no talking my way out.

"Sheik… you're trembling…" my sister whispered, tears and terror warping her voice. Immediately, I clenched every muscle in my body in attempt to still the involuntary tremors passing through me, but doing so only intensified my pain and shivering.

"It cannot be..." Zelda's voice whispered shakily, disbelievingly, but I could tell she saw the horrible truth in my expression. "Sheik… Answer me honestly. Does Ganondorf... violate you?"

A direct command. Completely unavoidable. Already, the blood bond was wrapping itself around my jaw and vocal cords. One way or another, it would have me confess, either by my own willing surrender to its unyielding coercion or by taking control of my body and forcing the words out. I chose to exercise what little control I had over my own body. Breathing deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth, my eyes slit open just enough to see spiderweb-like fissures splitting the marble. Hands balling into white-knuckled fists, fighting both the tremors rattling me and the blood bond's pull, I answered heavily, "Yes… He does…."

The relief obedience brought as the bond's influence lifted was replaced with the heavier, crushing weight the sound of Zelda's breath catching in her throat, weighing on my heart like an Goron sitting on my chest. Wiry arms clamped around my waist as Inianna buried her face in my chest with a strangled sob. Her grip tightened, and without my consent, a pained hiss escaped my clenched teeth. Realizing suddenly I was one massive bruise, Inianna released me and backed away, tears glistening over her starburst _rhyfel'aira_.

Expression hardening, I turned to Astar, pausing a moment to savor the shock widening his garnet eyes. "For the record, Astar, I wish Ganondorf _would _use his sword hilt more often when he rapes me," I hissed maliciously, bitterly, unable to stop myself. "It hurts less than his dick."

Inianna's hands flew to her mouth, only barely muffling her short, startled cry. Zelda slumped listlessly against the back of her chair, face ashen. I did not mean to speak so bluntly, so crudely, but frustration, pain, humiliation and anger overrode my self-control. Five years of hiding my dirty secret – blown in a single moment all because my loudmouth step-brother had to throw insults at me. Not even I had the patience to calmly deal with such a devastating personal catastrophe.

Wiping the startled expression from his face, Astar's leer was back as he cooed, "Well, well. Your wish has come true, little _bam'dirac_. You're being bedded by a man. Tell me, does he just screw you or does he let you fuck him, too?"

I recoiled as if he had physically struck me. Before I could react or even feel any emotion short of numb shock, Inianna crossed the floor in two strides and slapped Astar smartly across the face. Almost the same moment my sister's hand made contact with his cheek, Zelda stood up so fast her chair fell over with a clatter, slamming her palms down onto the round table. Energy crackled around her like lightning, lifting her golden hair so it floated around her as if she were underwater. The Triforce mark on her hand – usually hidden by her silk gloves – shone so brightly not even her glove could conceal it.

"Astar, be silent!" Zelda yelled, and the Triforce's magic flared around her, so powerful even I felt it pressing against me like a magnetic force. My eyes widened in shock at the sight. In the years I had known Zelda, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood, I have never once heard her raise her voice or lose her temper before now. "Your disrespect has gone too far to both Sheik and I! You have proven to me you are not worthy of this position of power and honor! Until you learn respect, I am demoting you to captain!"

"You cannot be serious!" Astar spat indignantly, his face an amusing combination of utter disbelief, bemusement and ire, one hand covering his abused cheek. "You are _demoting_ me because I insulted a _traitor_? How can you _possibly _still trust him? He just admitted to being Ganondorf's lover!"

"Rape does not constitute romantic intimacy, but hate," the princess rebuked hotly, glaring at him. "Sheik has committed no wrong. You, however, need a lesson in respect, therefore my punishment stands. Later, you will apologize to Sheik and it will be _heartfelt_, but until then, I _forbid _you to speak of this to anyone! You are hereby dismissed."

Gaping with mute rage, he sputtered, "But-!"

"Dismissed!" Zelda shouted furiously, pointing to the exit. Like a scolded puppy, Astar slunk from the gallery, an obvious handprint marring his fair cheek. At the sound of the metal door clanking shut, Inianna took a hesitant step towards me, but stopped when Zelda held up a hand. In a quiet, tired voice, she said, "I apologize, Inianna, but I would like a word alone with Sheik."

"Of course, Your Highness," she murmured softly, bowing respectfully to her before turning her heartbroken expression onto me. Gingerly hooking an arm around my neck, Inianna raised herself up on her tiptoes and kissed me affectionately on the side of the mouth. Rose-red eyes brimming with tears, she whispered, "I am so sorry, Sheik. Had I known..." she trailed off, shaking her hooded head and staring earnestly up at me. "You know I love you, _foh'dwar_, right?"

Nodding, I wiped the tears staining her cheeks, and murmured, "_Fy'cherchi dyf, lywnnola_."

Stifling a sob with her hand, Inianna hurried toward the exit, but when she was halfway down the stairs, Zelda called out, "Oh, and Inianna?" My step-sister paused and twisted around. "Try to knock some sense into your brother."

A fierce expression momentarily concealed her distress, five throwing needles suddenly clenched between her slender fingers. "Oh, I plan on it."

The metallic click of the door signaled Inianna's departure, but before I could return my gaze to Zelda, I felt her soft body against me, hugging me gently as if she expected me to break at any moment. This time, I did not return the embrace, keeping my hands at my sides. When she finally withdrew, I saw disappointment and hurt in her eyes. "Why did you not tell me, Sheik?"

"What good would it have done, Princess?" I demanded coolly, gently but firmly pushing her away from me. "You cannot stop it anymore than I, not without compromising all we have worked for these past seven years. I did not tell you because I had no desire to worry you more than you already do, nor did I want your pity."

The princess clutched her hands to her breast and averted her head to the side, crystalline tears sliding out from under closed lids. "Sheik, you are not only my servant, but you are my dearest friend," she whispered brokenly. "To learn of your atrocious suffering... it stabs at my heart..."

Lowering my head, I said quietly, "Do not grieve for me, my lady. I am doing this for you and Link."

Slender eyebrows crinkled in the center, Zelda asked inquisitively, warily, "What do you mean?"

Meeting the turbulent ocean waters that were her eyes, I explained patiently, "Not only did I vow to protect you, but I also owe you my life. You saved me from death three separate times, Zelda, and I have yet to repay my debt to you. This is my payment. As I always tell myself after… after each time, better that I endure the torment than you or Link. By acting as a double agent and allowing Ganondorf to use me as he wants, I am protecting you and Link from sharing my fate, keeping his eyes on me and away from you two. Until the day Link smites him on his holy sword, I will continue shield the two of you in this way, no matter what. Even if, Goddesses forbid, there were ever time where Ganondorf threatened you or Link with this kind of violation, I would gladly take the punishment in your stead."

For a long while, Zelda was silent, staring at me with her brimming sapphire eyes, her grief as palpable as the magnificent power she'd exuded not long ago. Finally, she asked in a whisper, "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the first day I joined his service," I responded grimly.

The Hylian started. "Since you were fourteen?" she demanded, aghast.

"Yes."

The sadness in Zelda's eyes was almost unbearable. Shaking her head slowly, she cupped my cheek, stroking my face affectionately. "My dear, Sheik," she breathed, silent tears spilling from her eyes. "If only the other Sheikah knew how much you sacrificed for me and Hyrule..."

"I do not want them to know," I responded firmly, gently removing Zelda's hand from my face, only to weave my bandaged fingers with her gloved ones. "Not now. Not ever."

"I understand," she murmured consolingly, "But, please. I feel responsible for your torment. Had I not sent you as a spy-"

"Had you not sent me and sent another instead, we might not be where we are today: hidden from Ganondorf's eyes and amassing an army while Link successfully awakens the Sages," I argued. "Any man or woman weaker than I would have caved and all would be lost. These past years have hardened me, strengthened me, rather than breaking me. Be thankful, my lady."

"Still, I wish to ease your pain," she insisted fervently, taking my hand and leading me to the lower level of the gallery where she had set up her sleeping chambers, hidden in a tent of cloth. "It would be wrong of me not to utilize my healing powers to help a friend when he is wounded."

Shrugging, I grunted, "Really, it is nothing I cannot tolerate, but if it will ease your mind..."

"It will," Zelda assured confidently, and motioned to the straw mattress on the floor. "Now please, I would like you to undress and lay down."

Eyebrows arching faintly in surprise, my lips pursed into a thin line and I crossed my arms defiantly. "You're joking."

"I am not," Zelda refute matter-of-factly. "Besides, I have seen you naked before."

Throwing my hands up into the air, exasperated, I protested, "When I was eight, yes! Eleven years have passed since then, and both my body and I have drastically changed!"

"I am aware of this, Sheik, but you are not the first naked man I will have seen. I have tended to a number of injured warriors and knights, and like you, it was impossible to heal their wounds with their clothes and armor on," the blonde princess retorted, balancing her hands on her hips. "Now, if you would, please strip. Do not force me to command you."

Sighing heavily, I muttered under my breath, "Is it not enough to be naked before only one master? Now I have to bare myself to _both_?" as I removed my throwing needles, chain whip and dagger. Zelda appeared not to have heard me. Quickly, with expert ease, I unwound my many bindings and tabard, and unlaced the front of my battlesuit, carefully peeling the tight fabric and in-sewn armor from my bruised, cut skin. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zelda's cheeks flush briefly with color before it promptly drained away the moment her eyes registered the extensive damage Ganondorf had done to me. As I settled myself down onto the mattress, laying on my stomach, I wondered what I looked like to her. I never thought much of my appearance, mostly because of the trouble it had caused me with Ganondorf. Still, part of me wanted to know if others perceived me as attractive, if only to know whether or not Link shared their opinions.

"That beast," Zelda hissed, draping a sheet over my lower body, her voice a wavering mix of sorrow, horror and fury as she inspected my body.

"They are not as bad as they appear," I insisted with only half-hearted conviction, my eyes sliding closed as a wave of exhaustion hit me. Only now that I was lying down after moving and acting for so long did I realize how tired I really was.

Somewhere beside me, the princess uttered a disbelieving grunt. Stripping her gloves from her arms, Zelda laid her silken hands gently and a soft, golden glow encircled them. Warmth spread out over my shoulders, the pain of the vicious bite marks eased away as the wounds were sealed. Encased in a haze of fatigue and soothing heat, I soon found myself struggling to keep my heavy eyelids open, to keep my consciousness rooted in the present.

But when Zelda's voice, distant and sweet, began to hum the lullaby Impa used to play for her, I knew what she was telling me. Wordlessly, so the blood bond wouldn't activate, she was encouraging me to fall asleep, to recover, and to retreat into the safe haven of my dreams. With her lullaby filling my ears and the warmth of her healing magic surrounding me, I surrendered myself to sleep's embrace; an embrace that manifested itself in the form of Link arms.

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**Glossary/Translations: **(in the order they appear)

_Rhyfel'aira_ = literally means Warrior's Silver. (An explaination to these markings and why some Sheikah have them and others don't will be provided in the story. You just have to keep reading to find out =P)

_Ny'tiall_ = literally means Death-Thorn. A swift, black horse-like creature of unknown origin, though theorized to be demonic. The preferred steed of the Sheikah.

_Ih'loid_ = Thank you

_Goht ef giyrf _= a phrase meaning "burdened and freed." Used as a dismissal for _ny'tiall _when they are not needed and are free to go wherever they wish.

_Dafiddma_ = orphan

_Foh'dwar_ = an affectionate term for an elder brother.

_Bam'dirac_ = an derogatory name for homosexuals, like the modern day words "queer" and "fag."

_Fy'cherchi dyf_, _lywnnola = _"I love you, too, dear-heart." _Fy'cherchi_ is not used for romantic love, but is reserved for family and close friends. _Lywnnola _is a term of endearment that literally means "dear-heart," close to our "sweetheart."

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**A/N:** Alright, more tidbits on my version of the Ocarina of Time world. Firstly, since I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter, Sheik's dragon-scale armor. I always thought he had to have some kind of protection under that skintight suit of his, but could never figure out what. Metal wouldn't work because it wouldn't allow flexibility and leather, while pliable, doesn't seem strong enough. It was only while I was watching Lord of the Rings at the scene where Biblo gives Frodo his mithral shirt, quoting "it's as light as a feather and hard as a dragon scale," did I come up with the idea of dragon-scale armor. Dragon scales have long been reputed for strength and magical power, and since they overlap, allow flexibility for the dragon. And thus, Sheik's dragon-scale armor was sewn into his battlesuit.  
**Rhyfel'aira marks** = Inspired by the silvery marks under Impa's eyes. Since they were never explained, I decided to give them meaning. However, why some Sheikah have them and some don't, well, I won't explain. You'll have to read further into the story to find out.  
**Io/_ny'tiall_ **= I thought Sheik needed a steed, but I couldn't see him riding a normal horse... or any Sheikah riding a normal horse for that matter. They're too mysterious for that, and so, they need a steed as equally misunderstood and shadowy as the Sheikah.  
**Gossip Stone** = Clearly a Sheikah artifact, but with no apparent use in the Ocarina of Time game. So, I drew on the Wind Waker version. If the Pirate's Charm is an enchanted, portable version of the Gossip Stones, then the Gossip Stones in Ocarina must have been used by the Sheikah to communicate with each other and the royal family... in my interpretation at least.  
**Secret grotto** = Not much to say here. Just made it more realistic than dropping into a hole in the ground.  
**Third**-**in**-**command Gerudo** = Yes, I know she has no name, but come on, she looks exactly like Aveil from Majora's Mask, just like the Cuckoo lady is identical to Anju. So I used her MM name.  
**Age differences** = Just a quick refrense so people don't get confused later on. In this story, Sheik and Link are nineteen, and Zelda is eighteen, therefore, Link and Sheik were twelve and Zelda was eleven when my Ocarina world officially began seven years earlier.

Alright, two down, three to go. As always, if there are mistakes let me know. Also, if you enjoyed the chapter, I'd love to hear it. Reviews always warm my heart. Until next update! ~ Des

**EDIT: **I've uploaded a drawing of **Sheik **onto my deviantart account, complete with the _rhyfel'aira_ marks on his cheeks. Check my profile for the link.


	3. Forced Betrayal

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. If I did, Sheik would be his own person rather than Zelda in disguise, he'd be in more of the games, and the Sheikah would be more prominent characters. The only things I own are the characters Astar, Inianna and Io, and certain, made-up words of the Sheikah language.

**Warnings**: For this chapter, there is implied, non-graphical rape. For the story overall, Sheik is a male and separate from Zelda, there are spoilers for the manga and game, and I played around with the Sheikah culture and Sheik's appearance.

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait for the long wait everyone. Thank you for being patient with me and a special thanks to all my reviewers. It warms my heart to read your comments.

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Chapter 3: Forced Betrayal

"I still think this is unwise," I groused stubbornly, scowling at Zelda, my arms crossed over my chest. The princess did not respond, merely continued to stare at the circle of flickering torches as she had been for the past five minutes. It was odd, seeing Zelda – usually attired in her tiara and royal gowns – wearing Sheikah garbs; one of my old, too-small battlesuits to be precise. The fabric clung to her body – usually hidden by swaths of fabric – and I found it almost indecent of how much the suit revealed of her figure. It left nothing to the imagination.

However, while her outfit matched mine exactly, from the bandaged fingers to the white cowl gathered underneath her delicate chin, her body structure was much different. The bangs escaping her head wrapping were dark gold instead of white-blond, she was a whole head shorter than I, her ears were longer, her eyes were blue rather than red, and her body was all soft curves. Oh, and the final sticking point, the gentle swell of her breasts behind the tabard.

"This will never work," I continued to argue, pacing back and forth agitatedly. "Sure, from a distance you look like me, but Goddesses forbid one of Ganondorf's minions gets too close, not even the cowl can hide your lack of height, blond hair, blue eyes, long ears and breasts. The Gerudo in particular will immediately know you are female. They spend enough time staring at me to differentiate between my physique and a woman's." I stopped in mid-step, glaring at her. "Princess, are you even listening to me?"

Blinking, Zelda snapped out of her trance and spun around to face me. "Sheik, you have been hounding me for the past fortnight on how you doubt the intelligence of this plan. Yes, I have been listening to you."

"Then why do you still insist on meeting Link in the Temple of Time?" I demanded. "Why not meet him at Lon Lon Ranch, or Lake Hylia, or here at the Shadow Temple, someplace neutral? Why for the love of the Goddesses would you meet him in the Temple of Time, where you will be sitting in the palm of Ganondorf's hand?"

"The Temple of Time is where we all first met," she reminded me placidly, "and where you and Link were reunited seven years later. It is only fitting for our reunion to occur there as well. Also-"

"You are throwing away all I have done to hide you from Ganondorf for a sentimental _memory_?" I interrupted incredulously, cold fury coursing through my tone. "Pardon me for saying so, Your Highness, but this beyond a doubt the most foolish, childish, thoughtless stunt you have ever pulled, especially coming from the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom."

Zelda visibly flinched and I knew she understood the implicit words undercutting my tone: if she was caught, all I had suffered through to keep her and Link safe would be for nothing. After all, if we lost our leader, what hope would we have of winning?

Stepping forward, the Hylian princess touched my exposed cheek with her newly bandaged fingertips and apologized softly, her voice barely a whisper, "I understand your concern, Sheik, and I am sorry I am placing myself in such danger, particularly now that I know what you sacrificed for me. I know it may seem foolhardy and selfish to you, but there is one more reason – a more appropriate one – for why I chose the Temple of Time.

"As you know, any of the six temples can mask the soft, but unremitting aura of a Triforce piece, so long as its keeper does not tap into its full magical potential. However, they cannot hide two Triforce auras... expect for the Temple of Time. Being connected to the Temple of Light and through it, the Sacred Realm, the one true home of the Triforce, the Temple of Time is the only place where Link and I can safely meet without Ganondorf sensing our Triforce pieces. There is no other choice. The Sheikah are like the temples; their combined strength is enough to hide my power, but not Link's as well. Furthermore, Ganondorf will be so preoccupied with our army entering his territory, he will be blinded to any other events, even ones occurring within his own domain. Trust me, Sheik. The Triforce of Wisdom has not failed me yet. All will be well."

Sighing heavily, I silently conceded to her request. Despite my misgivings and unease, I knew even if the Hylian princess were to change her mind, it was already too late. A week after Link's victory over Twinrova, I found him recovering in one of the spare bedrooms at Lon Lon Ranch. Amid my attempts to keep the injured, ever enthusiastic hero lying in his bed, I reluctantly relayed Zelda's orders and plan to him, detailing the time and date and what he had to do. Had it not been for the blood bond's magic forcing me to obey Zelda's command, I would not have conveyed the message to him and instead, would have spent the time concocting a new plan. But the damage had already been done. Link knew what he had to do and changing plans now without notifying him would only be disastrous.

With another sigh, I changed the topic, asking tonelessly, "What of the Gerudo? Now that Nabooru has broken free of Koume and Kotake's brainwashing and has become the Sage of Spirit, are the others likewise freed from Ganondorf's influence?"

Zelda offered me a wan, but pleased smile. "They are. Nabooru contacted me shortly after she awakened, informing me she had regained control over those at the Fortress. Naturally, they will not be present for the first assault, but they will arrive eventually to join us. As far as we know, Ganondorf is unaware of this loss, and I would prefer to keep it as such. If the Gerudo at the Castle are naïve of the others' turncoat, then it will demoralize them to see their sisters join us. It may be the difference between victory and defeat."

"This is not a traditional war, my lady," I reminded her stiffly. "Victory is not dependent on which army kills the most enemy soldiers. This assault is merely a diversion to draw out Ganondorf's minions and empty the castle of foes so Link and I will not be hindered. Even if our forces manage to devastate Ganondorf's monsters, it will mean nothing if Link cannot defeat the King of Evil. He is the root of the evil plaguing Hyrule, and only if he is destroyed can there be peace."

"Yes, but there are still those thousands of soldiers who are risking their very lives just to open up a small window of opportunity for Link to sneak into the castle," she argued, her voice weary and filled with sadness. "Many will perish in this battle, and I would like to keep the death toll of my people as low as possible. The more allies we have, the stronger our forces and the better our chances are of surviving." Glancing at me, sapphire blue eyes hardening, she hounded, "You know what to do?"

"Of course, my lady. When I see your signal, I will wait for Link by the castle's entrance so I can extend the drawbridge out to him," I recited tiredly. "So long as we move quickly, I should be able to pass Link through the Tower barrier before Ganondorf realizes my treachery and revokes my access through." Pausing a moment, I added as a second thought, "Even if that happens, with the castle emptied, it should be a simple matter for Link and I to destroy the six seals fueling the barrier."

"In any case, let us hope that will not be necessary and our plans run smoothly." Zelda turned, cupping my face in her hands. "Ganondorf will fall tonight, Sheik. The war, the murders, your suffering, ends tonight."

She embraced me tightly, burying her head against my chest, and I held her, my oldest friend in my arms, praying we would survive the night; not just us and Link, but Astar and Inianna, the Sages, and all of Hyrule. Suddenly, Kakariko's clock tower chimed, its deep bell ringing twelve times. Midnight. It was time.

As we parted, I pressed my palm against her warm cheek, mutely conveying the words I did not have time to speak: my undying loyalty; my gratitude for the times she saved my life; my relief of being treated as an equal, and not just a shadow; my happiness at securing eleven years of her friendship; and finally, my fear for her if we failed. Seeing the sudden well of tears in the princess's oceanic eyes, I knew she felt my jumbled emotions. Their strength must have been powerful enough to tickle the edges of her telepathy and draw her attention.

Silently, I withdrew my hand from her face, only to press a thick, silver ring into her palm. Without a word, she slid it over one bandaged finger, and the moment it touched her skin, I saw a veil of shadows encase her like a poisonous fog. The polished onyx stone set in the band was like a splotch of ink on a painting of soft, feathery brushstrokes: clear and distinct. All the shadow magic surrounding Zelda originated from the stone.

To reduce our chances of being caught, I had wanted to merely play the Prelude of Light and magically transport the princess into the Temple of Time. However, Zelda insisted we needed to use as little magic as possible and put on a "show" for any spies that might be watching. She wished to ensure they saw "Sheik" riding to the Castle alone rather than appearing out of nowhere. Unfortunately, since the dark magic exuding from the Sheikah was what had kept her hidden for so long, she could not very well step outside the Shadow Temple without protection. Ganondorf would sense her piece of the Triforce immediately.

In compensation of the Sheikah's absence, we crafted a ring in which each of us added our own spell to the onyx. Once activated, the layered spells would draw on our shadow magic and, as it had in the past, the combined strength would blot out Zelda's golden aura. However, the downside was the spell would only work for twenty minutes. As magic required energy, any amount of time over twenty minutes would exhaust or even kill us. It was one thing to protect her amongst ourselves, when our very presence offered a natural cloak. It another thing entirely to shield her through an enchanted object using a spell that drank our magic and energy, leagues away from each other. Even twenty minutes was pushing our limits. Already, I felt a slight deplete in my energy reserves.

As one, Zelda and I drew our cowls over our faces, and once we had exited the Shadow Temple, I scooped the princess up into my arms and leapt nimbly to the graveyard below. With natural ease, she swung up into the saddle atop the nervously prancing, swift black stallion I had prepared for her. Stroking his neck and whispering soothingly in one conical ear, she tried to calm his anxiety, brought on by the cemetery's spirits and Io's presence. While Zelda whispered to the jittery horse, I was wrenching the shadows over Io and myself, rendering us invisible. My already weak magic was a harder to reach and hold onto than normal; I even broke out into a sweat just to cast a simple concealing spell. The ring's enchantment was taking a toll on my spellcasting. But somehow, I managed to shield both myself and Io; Zelda's horse settled down almost instantly once my _ny'tiall _seemingly disappeared.

Once I was seated atop Io, with a soft word, Zelda and I started off at a gentle trot, weaving our way through the headstones. Only when we broke free of the graveyard did we spur our steeds into a swift canter, the princess in the lead. Riding through Kakariko held a strange feel this night. The village was an empty husk blanketed by darkness, completely devoid of life or light. Not even a torch flickered. Without the townsfolk – the women and children having been evacuated to Death Mountain while the men had gathered with Zelda's army – the place I had long called my home seemed cold and unwelcoming.

Kakariko vanished into the foothills of Death Mountain as we rode out into Hyrule Field, both of us steering our now galloping equines toward the bridge hidden somewhere in the distance. Frequently, Zelda would glance over her shoulder at me, possibly wondering if I was still there. After all, she could neither see me thanks to my spell, nor hear me due to Io's supernatural silence. Only when I hissed at her to look forward did she surrender the effort to pierce my illusions.

Just as the bridge materialized before, little stars of torchlight punctured the gloom like golden-orange Will-o'-the-Wisps. Even with the distance between us, galloping at high speed, my sharp eyes could detect individual soldiers amid Zelda's army: the small humans; the long-eared Hylians; the ghostly Sheikah; the aqua-skinned Zora; and the rocky Gorons. Only the tanned Gerudo women were absent from the army. Mounted on a white stallion was Zelda's decoy, a fair, blond-haired Kakariko woman who had bravely volunteered for the position. On either side of the horse were Inianna and Astar, both garbed in lightweight armor and barking orders. Though I knew both felt my stare, only Inianna's scarlet eyes locked with mine. We shared a brief nod, each offering the other support and well wishes before returning to our respective duties; her to commanding, me to escorting Zelda.

Thundering over the wooden bridge, I shouted over the thud of hooves, "Ride ahead! I will catch up with you shortly! And be careful!"

The princess did not respond, but instead raised a hand, twitching two fingers as a signal to proceed. At the other end of the bridge, I charged past Zelda and her stallion, veering Io to the right and running along the river bank. Spurring my _ny'tiall _to her full, supernatural speed, the scenery melted into a dark blur. The gray smudge of Castle Town's outer walls sped to meet us, the miles between us vanishing in a matter of seconds. Before we could collide with the fast approaching wall, Io dug her sharp hooves into the earth, breaking so sharply and suddenly it would have sent a normal rider flying over her neck.

Sliding off her sleek back, I dove headfirst into the river. The shock of the icy water nearly knocked the breath out of me, like a fist to the gut. I gritted my teeth against the bitter cold and swam to the grate in the castle wall, the arctic water sluicing off the waterproof material of my suit, but soaking into my thin cotton wrappings with a frigid bite.

Wrapping my numb fingers around the grate's bars, through clenched teeth, I bit out the same spell I used to break my lyre. The nails and bolts securing the drain to the castle wall shot out from the stone like an arrow from a bow, the metal grill falling loose in my hands. My energy level dropped alarmingly. I let it sink to the riverbed below and sucked in a breath before diving downward into the icy darkness, my arms and legs pumping strongly, gliding through the water as gracefully as a dolphin. There was just enough light filtering through the water for me to discern the second grate at the end of the drainage tunnel, its dark bars set against a wavering, murky glow.

I emerged from under the water with a gasp, my mouth and nose pressed flush against the drainage tunnel's slimy ceiling in effort to drag what little air existed in the confined space into my lungs. The taste of seaweed, brackish water, and a number of other rancid flavors I didn't care to identify flooded my mouth. It had been years since swimming tired me out, but the charm's drain on my magic and strength had increased with the distance between Zelda and I. I had to hurry. Sputtering out my spell, I heard the muted groan of metal as the grate's bindings snapped free. Only after I confirmed I broke through the second grate – namely by toeing the empty space with my foot – did I dive underwater and swam back the way I came.

Io was waiting for me by the riverbanks as I hauled myself up out of the river and onto her back, soaked and freezing, liquid beads running off my suit like oil on water. Without a spoken word, the _ny'tiall _turned and charged into the night, angling toward the worn dirt road running from Kakariko to Castle Town. By the time I caught up with Zelda, the brutal wind kicked up by Io's impossible speed had all but dried my wrappings. Being near the princess was an instant relief, both in knowing she remained unharmed and by reducing the ring's draw on my energy.

"Were you successful?" Zelda questioned after I called out her name to inform her of my return, her voice raised over the clop of her horse's hooves.

"I was," I responded as Io slowed her pace to match the speed of the princess's horse. "The passage way is open to Link." So far, everything was proceeding according to plan. So long as Link listened to me and avoided joining the fray of the upcoming battle, he could skirt around the fighting armies and slip, unnoticed, through the now opened grates into Castle Town.

"I saw you in the water," Zelda called suddenly. "Hard to believe eleven years ago I was dragging a drowning Sheikah boy out that very same river. Now you swim like a Zora."

"I learned from the best, my lady," I said simply in response, allowing myself a faint smile, hidden behind cloth and shadow. However, the expression faded as the crushed drawbridge leading into Castle Town drew closer. "But we can chat later. We only have a few minutes before the spell's mask dissolves. You need to be in the Temple of Time before then."

She lapsed into silence, her only response to my cautioning was to spur her horse on faster. With approximately five minutes left, we dismounted in front of Castle Town. As we hurried over the broken bridge, splashing through the moat's water, I positioned myself behind Zelda and reminded her quietly, urgently, "Remember, keep to the shadows. Even the faintest hint of torchlight will dispel my illusion, especially with your ring absorbing my magic. The ReDeads are unintelligent, but even they will recognize our trickery if they see two Sheiks."

Nodding, Zelda picked up her brisk stride a little, gravitating toward any patch of dark shade she happened upon. As I was born to do, I shadowed her, throwing needles wedged between the fingers of one hand, dagger in the other, ready to defend her at any given moment. When we entered the ruined marketplace, a tremor ran through Zelda. I had forgotten she had not seen Castle Town since she was eleven, when she and Impa were fleeing the town as it burned and crumbled beneath Ganondorf's hand. The sight must have been awful for her, seeing the places we used to run and play now piles of ash or broken wooden beams, overrun by ReDeads.

Still, she held herself together, marching fearlessly past the moaning ReDeads. As we skirted the emancipated zombies, I tensed, awaiting an attack, a paralyzing shriek, or a movement of any kind. None came. The ReDeads did not react to Zelda's presence. Our disguise fooled them. They could not discern the aspects differentiating her from me.

However, only once we were inside the Temple of Time did I feel the tension seep from my limbs and deem it safe to return my weapons to their places. Closing the heavy oak doors behind us, I kept a wary eye on Zelda, who had slumped weakly against the doors. As I brushed the shadows clinging to my limbs, she yanked the cowl away from her face. The unhealthy gray pallor to her usually golden, rosy cheeks alarmed me. She looked as if she was about to faint.

"Nayru's Love, Sheik," she panted heavily, her voice weak and trembling. "I was so nervous I was practically smothering myself. How do you breathe in this thing?"

"Years of practice," I responded simply, now fully visible. I took a step toward her, intent on checking her health when I noticed the thinning of the shadows around her. The spell was fading and the aura of Zelda's Triforce was piercing through the veil like shafts of sunlight filtering through storm clouds. Unanimously, we glanced at the ring on her finger, watching as the silver band darkened to the same shade of black as the onyx stone. Then, suddenly, silently, the ring exploded into a cloud of ashy smoke, drifting up into the air before completely vanishing. The only proof of its existence was the sooty band ringing Zelda's finger.

"We made it," I murmured, mostly to myself, feeling a huge weight lift from my shoulders. Zelda had safely infiltrated Ganondorf's domain without arousing suspicion. The Three were on our side this night, wherever they were up in the vast heavens beyond this world. Turning my attention back to the princess's ghostly face, I frowned in concern and asked, "Are you well, my lady? You look ill..."

Startled, Zelda glanced up at me, sapphire eyes wide and alarmed, like a doe staring down a hunter's bow. "Pardon?" she asked, confused, then touched her cheek and seemed to understand. "Oh. Yes. Yes, of course. It's just... it was a bit of a shock to see the town as such..." She trailed off, her eyelids sweeping down over melancholy, nostalgic ocean irises. "Sheik... the town... everywhere we used to play... the Bombchu Bowling Alley... the Happy Mask Shop... the marketplace... the places of our childhood... they are all destroyed."

Gently, I took the princess's smaller, bandaged hands into one of my own, tilting up her delicate chin with the other. When her sad eyes locked with mine, I said in a soft voice, "Wounds heal, leaving behind scars as reminder of the injury, but life goes on. We will never forget the horrors Ganondorf wrought on this land, but when Link smites him on the Master Sword tonight, Hyrule will start to mend. There will be scars, yes, both in the land and in the hearts of the people, but we will rebuild, repair and start life anew, free of his black influence. The town _will_ return. And while it will not be the same as it was seven years ago, nothing says you, Link and I cannot construct new, fonder memories in the restored Castle Town."

A soft, hopeful smile graced Zelda's lips and light returned to her eyes. "Yes..." she murmured, clasping her hands tightly around mine. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Sheik." Raising herself up on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me with all her might. I returned the embrace, my arms encircling her slender waist as my head dropped to her shoulder, crushing my old friend to me. I prayed this would not be the last time I saw her, spoke with her, held her.

"May the Goddesses watch over you," she whispered in my ear, her voice choked with fear, sadness and tears. She had not issued a command, but her blessing communicated her unspoken words as clearly as if she had shouted them: the moment of parting had arrived; it was time for me to return to Ganondorf's side and wait for Link so the final battle could begin.

"And you as well, Princess," I responded, touching my forehead to hers. Then, against my better judgment and every natural instinct in my body, I released her and strode out into the ruined, monochrome world outside, leaving Zelda alone and unprotected in the Temple of Time. Despite her assurances, I could not shake the foreboding sensation that turning my back on her was the worst thing I could have done.

* * *

All too soon, I was standing before Ganondorf once again, having battled with my instincts to immediately return to Zelda's side all the way up to the top of the Tower. Had it not been for my blood bond with her – forcing me to walk the too-familiar course to Ganon's Castle like the unseen hand of a giant pushing against my back, guiding me – I would have. Unfortunately, I was deprived of that choice and instead found myself repeating the same tired ritual of Ganondorf forcibly removing my "mask." However, for once I did not have to fear his lusty advances. My news would divert any unwanted sexual attention.

"Sire, I bring grave tidings," I announced as instructed by Zelda. "An army of Zora, Gorons, Sheikah, humans and Hylians march upon the castle from the east. Princess Zelda leads them. It appears she has opted to emerge from hiding and face you head on. I do not doubt she intended to surprise you when you least expected it."

Ganondorf's face warped into an ugly scowl. "Din's Fire..." he cursed, spitting in a random direction. Reclining in his throne, he folded his hands in his lap and grunted, "This is a bittersweet moment indeed. At long last, the Princess Zelda reveals herself to me, but with an army upon my doorstep. Her poison has spread to all the races of Hyrule, turning them against their king!" Standing abruptly, the Gerudo proclaimed, "The traitors will all perish for this rebellion! It is time I put an end to Zelda and her meddling in my affairs… her and her pathetic hero! Sheik, summon the Gerudo at the Fortress! With their combined might, I will crush this pitiful revolution!"

Bowing, I recited, "Right away, sire. I shall send three hawks to ensure the Gerudo receive your message so your victory over these traitors will be secured." It nauseated me to speak in such simpering, flattering tones to the man who had destroyed the country I loved, but I swallowed my pride, just as I always had these past five years.

The pleased, lecherous smile Ganondorf aimed at me made my skin crawl with revulsion. "Such a good pet," he purred huskily. "Rest assured, you will be handsomely rewarded for your loyalty when this pathetic army lay in ruins. Now go. I must prepare my forces."

I bowed one last time before hurrying from Ganondorf's chambers, gratefully yanking my cowl up over my face the moment my back was to him. When the double doors closed behind me, rather than heading to the hawks' roost near the top of the Tower, I hurried to the room I had claimed as my own. It was sparse, consisting solely of a neatly-made bed and a trunk containing spare battlesuits, bindings and weapons. Bypassing these, I settled myself on a windowsill, peering through the glass to the overlooking view of the Temple of Time. Patiently, I waited for Zelda's Light Arrow, ready to spring to my feet the moment I saw it and rush to meet Link.

In the meantime, I watched as Gerudo, Stalfos, Dinofos and Iron Knuckles poured out of the castle drawbridge in a steady stream, sporting glaives, scimitars, broadswords, hunting daggers and double-headed war axes. When I saw the lumbering, slow-moving ReDeads join the army, I prayed to the Three that my idea of stuffing beeswax into our troops' ears would shield them from the revenants' freezing screams. Beyond the castle walls, I saw the flickering torches our army. The two forces would meet head-on at any moment. I itched to join them, but knew I was needed here. And so I waited, hoping Zelda was safe, wondering if Link had successfully circumvented the battle and had slipped through the drainage grates.

I was in the process of sketching out a plan to defeat Ganondorf when suddenly, my blood bond with Zelda jerked. Horror and shock that did not belong to me rolled over me like desert heat waves. Only when I felt an alive, golden force thrumming through my veins, lighting my blood on fire with an unearthly, euphoric power did I realize I was feeling Zelda's emotions. Before I could ground myself, the blood bond drew me in deeper, like the inescapable current of a waterfall, extracting my consciousness from my body and into hers. Her consciousness mixed with mine and through her eyes, I saw the Triforce of Wisdom glowing through the bandages on her hand. Zelda and I raised our eyes, and we saw an answering glow on the back of a young man's gauntlet, a young man dressed in green. Terror dawned in both Zelda and I.

We could have never anticipated this. By being this close to each other, Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom and Link's Triforce of Courage were reacting to the other. The Temple of Time could hide the golden auras of two inactive Triforce pieces, but not two resonating pieces. Which meant–

"_**Princess Zelda, you foolish traitor**__!_" boomed Ganondorf, the deep bass of his echoing voice shaking the walls of the Temple of Time, magnified tenfold by the Triforce of Power. A wall of pink clouded our eyes, and we watched in alarm as Link ran up to us, pounding his fists on the strange, translucent surface, shouting inaudibly. Looking around at the rose-colored walls surrounding us, we realized we were trapped in a giant crystal. Past the walls of our crystal confinement, Ganondorf's voice continued to rock the Temple, "_**I commend you for avoiding me and my servant's pursuit for seven long years, but you let your guard down, as I knew you would if I allowed this child to wander around**_**.**"

A bolt of dark, fiery power surged through us. With a scream, Zelda collapsed, unconscious, to the bottom of the rose quartz; my spirit was flung from her mind, slamming back into my own body with enough force to knock me from the windowsill. Winded from the shock of my bizarre experience and the onslaught of power my mind had endured, for several moments, I could merely lay on the cold stone floor, stunned and dazed.

But then, I heard Ganondorf's voice, rattling through the castle walls and the turrets, just as it had in the Temple of Time. "_**My only mistake was slightly underestimating the power of this boy... No... It was not the boy's power I misjudged, but the power of the Triforce of Courage.**_"

Danger warnings flashed in my mind and with a curse, I sprang from the floor and dashed out into the hallway. Even as I was charging up the stairs of the tower, taking the steps two at a time, I had not the faintest clue what I would do. All I knew was I could not sit idle in my bedchambers while Zelda and Link were in danger.

As I ran, Ganondorf's voice adopted a sneering, challenging tone, reverberating off the cold, black walls, "_**O, Great Hero of Time, if you wish to save your precious princess, come to my castle and battle for her freedom, if you dare. I will be waiting, boy!**_"

Terror gripped my heart like a Wallmaster's long, brittle, impossibly strong fingers. "Bleeding shadows, he has Zelda!" I swore loudly, sprinting all the faster up the carpeted stairs. My heart hammered in my ears, air burst from my lungs and adrenaline coursed through my veins, fueled by my sheer panic.

_Ganondorf has Zelda_.

Link was strong. Somehow, he would find a way into the castle and destroy the barrier around the tower. Zelda was in more need of my aid than the Hero of Time. While the princess was proficient in magic, she was not trained in combat as Link and I were, and magic alone would not protect her from Ganondorf.

So I ran and I ran until finally, I burst through the doors of Ganondorf's tower. The scene before me made my blood run cold. There was Zelda, freed of her crystal entrapment, unmasked and sprawled out helplessly before Ganondorf. Her head wrappings were untwining, ropes of golden hair cascading down her bodysuit. Yet, despite her situation, she managed to hold herself with regal poise, her chin raised proudly. But I saw through her defiance to the fear below.

Ganondorf glanced up at the sound of my entry, his thick lips curling into a sneer. "Ahh, Sheik. What a coincidence. You have arrived just in time." Sweeping his dark hand toward Zelda, he explained, "We have been deceived. It appears the Zelda you saw commanding the rebel army was actually a decoy. The _real _princess was secretly meeting with the Kokiri boy in the Temple of Time. And, as you can tell by her attire, it appears you were not as cautious as you assumed, my pet. She is, after all, garbed in clothes remarkably similar to yours. She must have seen you on your scouting missions and deduced you were my spy, but no matter. The Triforce of Wisdom is now in my hands."

"Only temporarily, Ganondorf," Zelda countered, her tone regal and proud. "Link _will _conquer your castle and you _will _perish beneath his blade."

Ganondorf roared with laughter, all but shaking the rafters in his mirth. "You honestly believe that _child _has the power to stop _me_?" the Gerudo king asked ironically. "Oh, Zelda, you foolish naïve girl. I can see your _hero's _success in awakening the Sages has lent you a false sense of hope. Once I crush your feeble rebellion _and_ your precious Hero of Time, there will be no one left to save you."

As he stared at her, a slow smile crept over his face and he knelt on one knee before her. Taking her chin in his hand, he examined her with his bloody eyes and hissed, "Before killing you, I intended to take you as my own as a victory celebration for destroying your nuisance of hero. But why wait? It will take him hours to reach me and your army will fall beneath the onslaught of my monsters. I have already won." His eyes flickered in my direction, his mouth stretching into a sadistic smirk. "Disguising yourself as Sheik was a poor choice on your part, _Princess_, for I am very fond of my little shadow." His rust-colored eyes roamed her face, his grin becoming more and more pointed with each passing second. "I am curious… You look very much like my Sheik in this outfit… I wonder if that will still hold true if I were to remove it…"

Seizing the front of her cowl, Ganondorf tore the cotton fabric down the front, snapping the bandages binding the tabard to her chest in half. The demolished cowl and tabard fell from her delicate shoulders, exposing her contoured form and battlesuit's frontal lacings. The violent action abruptly snapped me from my horrified stupor, and I threw all caution of my own well-being into the wind. With a burst of speed the lumbering king could never hope to achieve, much less block, I darted in front of him as he reached for Zelda, throwing needles in my hands.

"Your blood-crusted, murdering hands are not fit to touch one so pure, _chab'uhcac_," I hissed dangerously, my eyes narrowing to slits. "I will not allow you to violate Zelda the way you have me. With the Three as my witnesses, I swear on pain of death I will _personally _castrate you as I have so longed to do if you lay even so much as _finger _on her."

Had our situation not been so dire, the rapid morphing of the Gerudo's expression from lust to surprise and finally to irate fury would have been comical. "You _dare _threaten me!" he roared furiously, his darkly tanned face contorting. "You _dare _challenge your master? You _dare _betray _me_?"

"Fool," I spat venomously, lowering my cowl so he could see the triumphant sneer curling my lips. "I did not betray you. I was never on your side to begin with."

Livid rage twisted Ganondorf's face into the ugly countenance of a bestial monster. With an enraged, boar-like snarl, he swung an enormous hand at me. Smoothly, effortlessly, I ducked, evading the blow. Before I could straighten, pain exploded against my side as a crackling ball of energy slammed against me, impossible to dodge, impossible to defend against with my weak shadow magic. It flung me across the room, agony stabbing at me like a thousand white-hot needles, and I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out as I slammed against the opposite wall with bone-breaking force. Like a wounded spider, I curled in on myself, limbs twitching and jerking, teeth gritted against the pain of his evil magic sparking over me like lightning. I tasted blood. Somewhere in the background, I heard Zelda screaming my name.

As the spell and agony abated, I slowly relaxed my fetal position, only to be assaulted by searing pain in my head as Ganondorf fisted a hand in my hair, lifting me forcibly by the roots. Leveling his sneering, rough-hewn face with mine, he demanded in a low, cold voice. "Do you love your precious Zelda, Sheik?"

Staring directly into the murderer's eyes, I smiled through the pain and responded hoarsely, "As if she were my own blood."

The hand in my hair tightened as Ganondorf's infuriated expression intensified. Hot blood ran down the side of my face as a clump of hair and skin was torn from my scalp. "And are you so loyal to your princess that you would willingly take her place?"

"Without a second thought," I responded unfalteringly, my gaze firm and resolute. My defiant grin widened. "You have already sullied me. Better me than her."

"Sheik, no!" Zelda screamed frantically, her voice panicked, pleading.

Sneering maliciously at me, Ganondorf threw a hand at Zelda, firing a beam of crimson magic at her. Before I could shout her name, the spell solidified around her, once again trapping her inside the giant rose quartz. After he secured Zelda and her crystal prison above the organ, the Gerudo turned and flung me to the ground, oxygen rushing from my lungs. Winded and gasping from pain and lack of air, I tried to sit up, only to be forced back down as Ganondorf stomped his foot on my chest, pinning me under his boot.

"By the time I finish with you, shadow, I will be sure you regret your choice," he hissed, leering menacingly down at me as he ground his boot into my chest with bruising force. I bit my lip to hold back a pained grunt. Glancing over his shoulder at Zelda, he called out, "Thank your slave, Princess, for delaying your imminent fate. Watch well, for you will have your turn once the hero is dead."

With a flick of his wrist, I felt myself flying through the air, pain shooting through me as my back and skull cracked against a wall. However, this time, I did not crumple to the ground, for a pair of icy metal manacles had snapped closed around my wrists, stretching my arms up above my head. Already, I felt a steady ache in my shoulders as my suspended weight pulled on my joints. Head bowed, pale hair and unraveling bandages dripping in front of my face like the branches of a Weeping Willow, I felt the corner of my mouth tug into a dark, twisted smile. Ganondorf wasn't taking any chances. He knew I would no longer lay still like a good, obedient little slave, so he robbed me of the chance to fight back and make the experience hell for him as well. Clever.

As Ganondorf closed in on me, I lifted my gaze to the enormous rose quartz, locking with Zelda's terrified eyes. "Close your eyes, Zelda," I called softly, just loud enough for her to hear me. "Close your eyes and do not watch."

Then the Gerudo's immense bulk eclipsed the Hylian princess from my view, and my eyelids slid shut.

The anguish was indescribable, the utmost worst I had ever experienced in all my five years under his service. While Ganondorf had never been what one would call "gentle," he had never gone as far as he did now. I had displeased him before, and had felt his wrath when he raped me as punishment, but it was never enough to damage me beyond repair. This time, he was actively trying to bring me as close to death as he could, as many times as he could, without actually killing me, trying to draw out the torture, trying to make me beg for death. He beat me, choked me, burned me, whipped me, tortured me with metal instruments and fire, and raped me over and over and over until I lost track. My world was reduced to a timeless stream of unending agony, humiliation and Zelda's terrified screams. I had no idea if she obeyed my request to avert her eyes, but for her sake, I hoped she had.

However, in spite the pain and torture Ganondorf assailed me with, I never once cried out, refusing to give him the pleasure of hearing me scream or beg. I tore apart the inside of my cheeks and lips in effort to remain silent, filling my mouth with blood. The sacrifice was well worth the price. Even though my silence frustrated Ganondorf and cost me more pain, the rage and aggravation I saw in his eyes told me he was gaining no sadistic pleasure from my rape. That thought alone was enough to bring a smug smirk to my lips, even through the pain.

In response, Ganondorf's face twisted in fury and he slammed into me with the force of a battering ram. Pain lanced through me, so intense, so furious, so violent I felt it in every nerve ending in my body. A single cry tore from my lips before merciful darkness took me.

* * *

"Wake up!"

A harsh punch to the gut wrenched me from the blissful, painless arms unconsciousness. Pain seared through my stomach, my shackled wrists and overextended shoulders, and up my spine. The innumerable wounds cut, burned, and beaten into my body all throbbed in unison, threatening to send me back into the darkness. But the blood bond reacted to the order, robbing me of that choice. Blearily, I opened my eyes, the bond's compulsion weakening. Ganondorf's dark, sneering face flickered in and out of my blurred vision.

But my half-lidded eyes were not open enough to satisfy him. "I said wake up, you worthless shadow!" the Gerudo king repeated, punching me again. I grunted harshly as his blow struck my already bruised side, choking on pain and blood.

"Stop it!" Zelda shrieked wildly somewhere in front of me, tears evident in her voice. "Stop it, you sadistic bastard! You've tortured him enough!"

"Zelda?" I gasped weakly, casting my eyes over Ganondorf's shoulder as I sluggishly lifted my head. The Hylian princess was kneeling inside of her crystal prison, her palms pressed flat against the confining walls of the rose quartz. Other than the sheer desperation in her eyes and the tears streaming down her elegant cheekbones, she seemed unharmed.

_Thank the Three_..._ Zelda's safe_... I thought hazily, eyes drifting closed and smiling inwardly.

"Oh, Sheik…" I heard her sob, then gasp sharply when Ganondorf yanked my head upright by my hair. I barely felt it amidst all the other pains.

Reluctantly, I pried my eyes open. Somehow, through the pain, exhaustion and weariness, I managed to glare defiantly into my torturer's narrowed, rust-colored eye. However, it was not ire contorting his warped face, but a crooked sneer filled with malicious pleasure. Leaning in close, his aquiline nose practically touching mine, he hissed, bathing me with his sallow, stinking breath, "You may have been loyal to Zelda all along, shadow, but you still swore a blood bond to me. So before the time I decide to slit your throat and watch your blood spill out across the floor, you still must obey any command I issue." His leer widened, his thick teeth white and pointed against his dark skin. "The Hero of Time has broken through my barrier and is climbing the tower as we speak. _Kill him_."

I stiffened. Behind Ganondorf, Zelda screamed, "_No_!"

Through gritted teeth, I glared fiercely up at the Gerudo king and hissed, "I will not do it. I will _not_." But even as the words left my lips, I knew it was futile. The moment Ganondorf spoke his command, my blood bond with him activated in a roar. My limbs shook and ached from the powerful, adrenaline-rush compulsion, desperate to obey. Pain stabbed at my brain like white-hot needles. The blood magic curled around my heart like a serpent, constricting, trying to convince me I _wanted_ to destroy the man I loved. In a serpentine hiss, the blood bond replayed Ganondorf's order in my head, _Kill... kill... kill... Kill Link..._

A leering smile stretched Ganondorf's face. He could see my inner turmoil through my eyes, knew I could not disobey a direct order, knew the manacles chaining me to the wall were the only things keeping my body from surrendering to the blood magic. "A noble sentiment to be sure, shadow, but both you and I know you have no choice in the matter." With a haughty flourish of his cape, he whirled around, staring up at Zelda. "And before you order your faithful dog to spare your beloved hero's life, Princess, remember this: no Sheikah has ever served two masters before. Your order _could _cancel out my own… or it could exist side-by-side with my own and drive him insane." He grinned maliciously. "Are you willing to take such a risk?"

The blonde hesitated, frantic deliberation apparent on her beautiful face. Then, her expression fell into utter hopelessness and with a weak sob, she buried her face in her hands. "I am so sorry, Sheik," she wept helplessly. "I cannot do it... I just can't..."

Ganondorf's triumphant sneer was sickening. "A sensible choice, O Keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom," he laughed derisively, sadistic pleasure oozing from his voice as he bent into a low, mocking bow. Turning to me, his bloody eyes glowing with sinister delight, he cackled through a crooked smirk, "Time to fulfill your final service to me, Sheikah. Oh, and one last thing. You are not to warn your dear hero of his imminent death at your hands."

With a snap of his fingers, my torn battlesuit, cowl and wrappings returned to my body, repairing themselves, and the manacles around my wrists snapped open. Like a sack of rocks, I tumbled listlessly to the floor, pain shooting through every conceivable part of my body. Under normal circumstances, I could have fought against the blood bond's pull and remained as I was; crumpled and broken on the floor. But weakened of mind and body, I could not fight against gravity-like tug on my limbs, lifting me into the air against my will, like the strings of a puppet. As the blood bond dragged my un-consenting body to the exit, I called out to the princess, "I will find a way around this, Zelda. I swear it. I will not kill Link."

Even as the heavy oak door swung closed behind me, I could still hear Ganondorf's answering laughter ringing in my ears. Gritting my teeth as the bond carried me forward like a kite caught in a tempest, I thought, _I will die before I harm him. Ganondorf may have ordered me to kill Link, but he said nothing to prevent me from dying before I carry out his command_...

* * *

Every step burned. Every flex of my muscles sent a fresh wave of pain through me. Blood seeped through my battlesuit and bandages, staining them with dark, crimson blotches. Behind my cowl, my breath was labored with the effort it took to walk, to keep moving. Sweat beaded my brow and dampened my hair. My vision wavered, threatening to fail at any moment.

Compared to the internal war waging within myself, however, my physical pain barely registered in my mind. Every step was labored not because I was trying to walk through pain, but because I was fighting to stand still against the blood bond's insistent compulsion to propel my stubborn body forward. It was like trying to swim against the vicious riptide of the ocean after it had dragged me to its sandy bottom; helpless and ineffective, but my determination would not allow me to surrender.

_I will not obey. I will not kill Link, _I chanted in my head, jaw clenched against the powerful, magnetic pull. _I will not obey. I will not kill Link. I will not obey. I will not-_

"Hey! Look!"

A high-pitched, all-too familiar female voice interrupted my inner mantra. My eyes flew open as horror flooded me like a bursting dam. In my preoccupation, I had not even realized I had closed them. Now I was all too aware of my surroundings: the dark stone walls, the faceted stained-glass windows the color of twilight, the scarlet rug edged in gold carpeting the stairs... the bright blue glow surrounding the miniature body of the fairy hovering in front of my face, insect wings fluttering, violet eyes concerned.

Eyes flying open wide, I jerked back, reeling away from her... or at least, I would have if I was not struggling for control over my own body; in reality, only my head moved, twitching backwards like the broken neck of wooden puppet. Still, the undiluted terror in my eyes was enough to alert Navi.

With a burst of shimmering dust, she darted forward a short ways, calling frantically, "Link, hurry! It's Sheik! Something is wrong with Sheik!" before returning to me, zipping around me in agitated circles.

Before I could react, Link charged around the bend of the staircase. Even battered and bruised with his tunic torn, blond hair and tanned skin smeared with blood and gore, somehow, he remained impossibly handsome. My heart wrenched at the sight of him, but for the first time since our meeting, it was not my love for him that fuelled the painful beating of my heart, the increase of my breathing. For the first time, seeing him filled me with not joy, but dread.

His cerulean blue eyes enlarged as they assessed the blood staining my battlesuit and cowl, horror suffusing his face. "Farore's Wind… Sheik!" Link cried, dropping the Master Sword with a clatter and rushed to me.

The blood bond roared as Link raced up the stairs, encasing my limbs with a burning fire. My right hand shook and ached under the sheer power it took for me to keep it pinned to my side instead of seizing my hidden dagger. All too soon, the distance between the hero and I had vanished, and the Hylian was reaching out to me with a gauntleted hand. Somehow, I managed to wrench myself from both Link and the blood bond, retreating jerkily. Yet in my haste, my heel caught on the lip of the steps and sent me tumbling backwards onto the stairs. Pain lanced through me as my bruised spine connected with the hard stone, my back arching under the agony and a hiss snaking through my teeth.

"Sheik!" Warm arms encased me, lifting me off the ground. Worried aquamarine eyes stared down at me, horror flitting through them like a flock of startled birds darting across the sky. Dragging a hand across my forehead, Link cried urgently, "Sheik, are you injured? What happened? Oh, Goddesses, you are covered in blood...! Sheik!"

A strangled sob tore at my throat. For so long, I had imagined myself in Link's arms like this. But now that I was finally here, the desired moment was corrupted by the blazing fury of the blood bond; no matter how I fought to maintain control, I could not prevent the magnetic power from curling my shaking fingers around the dagger hilt at my hip. The cruel irony stabbed at my heart, wrenching another tortured cry from my lips.

Interpreting it as an exclamation of pain, Link drew me closer, his celestial eyes anxiously roaming my half-hidden face, trying to discern my ailment. Frantically, his fingers trembling against my cheek, he cried, "Where are hurt you, Sheik? Are your wounds serious? Please, Sheik, tell me! Talk to me!"

"Get away from me…!" I snarled harshly, desperately thrashing against the steel circle of Link's arms and possessing magic of the blood bond. My efforts failed on both accounts. The Hylian only tightened his grip on my writhing body, and I struggled to keep my arm from poising the unsheathed dagger over Link's back. "Dammit, let go of me, you stupid Hylian!"

"Sheik... what are you saying...?" Link questioned, pain infusing his voice. Good. Since I was unable to warn him of my forced betrayal, if I inflicted enough emotional pain, perhaps he would abandon me. Later, if we both survived the night, I could explain the situation to him and apologize for my harsh words. Compared to the alternative, this was the lesser evil.

"I am saying I need no help from a member of the murderous race that drove my tribe to the brink of extinction!" I shouted, pouring all of my anguish, my panic and my desperation into a feigned glare of anger. Overhead, Navi buzzed like an agitated bee. Had I not been so preoccupied with keeping the dagger in my possessed hand away from Link's flesh, I would have swatted at her. "My mother's spirit will never forgive me if I accept aid from one whose hands are forever stained with the blood of my kin."

Link flinched as if I had physically struck him, his handsome face a mask of confusion and hurt. Yet he still refused to release me. "I know not what the Royal Family did to betray the Sheikah, but I swear to you, Sheik, I will not do the same!" the blonde vowed, desperation coloring his tone. "You do not know me as well as I thought if you believed I would follow in the footsteps of my ancestors and abandon you after all we have endured together! If repentance of Hylian crimes against the Sheikah is what you seek, then I shall purge the sins of my forefathers from my flesh right now, beginning with saving you!"

Cursing in a fluent stream, I writhed in his arms like a fish caught in a net, bellowing lies and falsities, "I need neither your atonement nor your chivalry! I have never needed you!" Another hopeless cry clawed out of my throat as the dagger lifted higher still, drawing nearer and nearer to Link's heart with every passing second. No matter how I tried, I could not stop my own hand. Keeping it down was like trying hold my arm straight while balancing a two ton boulder. "I was alone and fighting for my life when you were still curled up in the safe haven of the Kokiri Forest! I did not need your help then, I did not need it when you were sealed away in the Temple of Time, and I certainly do not need it now! But Zelda does! Without you, she is defenseless! Now leave me and rescue her! Go!"

"No! I cannot simply forsake you!" Link argued stubbornly, embracing me to his chest. "I know not what has transpired, but I do know this is not you! These cold words you speak hold no truth; I can feel it in my heart! You are my friend, and I care deeply for you! I will save you!"

The warrior's words wrenched on my heart, and I cried out pitifully, the fingers of my free hand curling in the front of his tunic. "Damn you and your heroism!" I sobbed miserably, my right arm now completely around Link's back, the wicked point of the dagger aimed above his heart. The Hylian must have thought I was embracing him, for his arms drew me closer, and his hand snaked back to cradle my head against his shoulder. In an urgent voice, he vowed, "I am here, Sheik! I shall not desert you! I will not let you die!"

"Goddesses, but I want to!" I exploded desolately, my arm shaking violently from the sheer mental and physical power it took to keep the knife from plunging into his back. "If you will not leave, then kill me!"

"What?" Link gasped, jerking back to stare down at me in horror. "Sheik, what are you–?"

"You must kill me!" I bellowed frantically, desperately, gnashing my teeth together. My hand dropped an inch, shuddering like the tremors of an earthquake. "Now before it is too late!"

"_**Enough stalling**_!" boomed Ganondorf's deep, magnified voice, echoing off the walls of the spiral staircase. "_**Kill the Hero of Time now, slave**_!"

Crying out, I jerked violently as the blood bond reacted, slamming my head ferociously back against the stairs as its controlling magic increased tenfold. My arm burned as the downward, gravitational force intensified.

Suddenly, Navi's high-pitched voice shrieked, "Link, look out!" Startled, he lifted his bewildered gaze from my tortured expression, and happened to catch our reflections in the stained-glass window. Blue eyes widened as they locked onto the mirror image of the dagger raised high over his back. Throwing himself to the side, he rolled away from me, and with a cry of relief, I relaxed my arm. It swung down, the blade glancing off the stone with a burst of sparks. On the opposite side of the stairwell, Link straightened himself, his body tensed into a crouch.

"No... It cannot be true..." he murmured quietly, betrayal and hurt reflecting in his eyes. "Sheik...?"

Control was slipping through my fingers like sand through an hourglass, ticking off the seconds until I surrendered to the blood bond's probing, consuming magic. I did not delude myself into believing I could master it. Even as I fought against it – my entire body trembling from the effort – it still managed to lift me off the floor, dagger in hand, like a sorceress controlling a voodoo doll. I knew I had lost the fight even before my eyes locked with Link's hurt, questioning ones. Hot, salty tears rolled down my cheeks, the first I had shed since Ganondorf initially forced himself on me five years ago.

In my final moments of willfulness, I whispered sorrowfully, "I am so sorry, Link. Please forgive me."

It was the first time I had ever addressed him by his name.

Like the intrusive possession of a demon exerting its power over its unwilling host, the blood bond consumed me entirely, usurping my mind and seizing control over my body. All sensation and pain vanished as the blood magic wrapped itself around my brain, detaching my consciousness from my body and its sensations, like a child extracting a starfish from a rock outcropping. It was as if I was encased in a glass box – able to see and hear, but powerless affect the world around me. Even when I tried to reach out with my severed consciousness, tried to regain control, an invisible wall stopped the advances of my mental probe, as if I was indeed locked in inescapable cell in my mind. I was trapped within my own body, unable to twitch even a finger.

_If you refuse to attack, then I will, _hissed the blood bond in a warped, garbled version of Ganondorf's voice. Throwing needles materialized in my fingers. Disconnected from my limbs, I could not feel the cool, slim metal I saw in my hands. It was as if I was a casual bystander in my own body, looking on with impassive curiosity...

But the current moment filled me with anything but mild interest. I watched in helpless horror as Link threw himself to the side to avoid the long needles flying through the air, missing their deadly points by mere seconds. They clanked against the stone wall with rhythmic thunks. Diving for the fallen Master Sword, Link snatched up the weapon with nimble fingers and rolled to his feet, Navi fluttering restlessly behind him. With halting movements, he positioned the Master Sword in front of him, its point leveled at me. I could see the turmoil clouding his eyes – the hurt, the anger, the confusion – and the effort it took to aim a sword at the man he believed to be his friend. The sight ripped me apart; yet the blood bond repelled my efforts to break free and showed no mercy. It flung my body at him in an impossibly fast lunge, the edge of my dagger sliding against the Master Sword with a shower of sparks. Over the glinting X of polished, sharpened metal, Link's tortured expression permeated my banished mind like polluted sludge consuming a once pristine lake.

"You tricked me!" he accused, intense pain reverberating in his voice, overpowering my body's strength as he shoved fiercely against my dagger with the Master Sword, propelling me back. The blood bond jerked my body in reverse, making it spring head over heels backwards to avoid the Master Sword's horizontal slice. "In the Temple of Time, Princess Zelda told me you were her spy and you had been working as a double agent to keep her hidden from Ganondorf. She assured me you were loyal to her; but she was wrong!"

_No, Link, she was right! _I protested futilely, slamming as much mental power as I could against the barrier that rendered me a prisoner in my own body, struggling to break through and regain control. _I would never intentionally betray you! Never! This is Ganondorf's doing! Ganondorf and his damned blood bond!_

Blocking another volley of throwing needles with his shield, Link slung his bow from his back and retaliated with two quick arrows. The projectiles caught the loose ends of my tabard as the arrowheads pierced the canvas and wood backing of the floor-to-ceiling landscape painting behind me, pinning me to the picture frame. Hefting the Master Sword over his shoulder, the Hylian charged at my trapped form, ready to skewer me.

The blood bond reacted, kicking my legs up and curling them over my head and torso as only a Sheikah could, tearing free of the arrows as the Master Sword swung through the empty air where my body had been moments ago. Planting my feet on the wall, the blood bond propelled me forward, flipping over Link's head. In mid air, it wrapped my legs around his throat. Bending backwards, my hands hit the floor and with a powerful jerk of my torso and legs, the blood bond flung Link over my body, throwing him against the opposite wall with enough force to a stained-glass window. Nimbly, I landed upright and the blood bond fanned shuriken between my fingers, flinging them at the warrior's crumpled figure. Shards of aqua and lavender raining from the folds of his tunic as he rose halfway from a pile of twilight-colored glass, Link hastily swung the Master Sword, deflecting the throwing stars against the flat of his blade. My body surged forward, dagger slicing through the air. The painted metal of Link's shield stopped a downward swing.

"I believed in you!" Link shouted angrily, thrusting his shield forward to unbalance me while he dove to the side, rolling around me to strike from behind. Had the blood bond not forced my body to leap straight into the air, soaring high over the gleaming steel, the attack would have laid my back open. "I never once doubted your loyalties! I wholeheartedly believed in Zelda's judgment, in _you_! Yet you fooled us both!"

_Link, you fool, can you not see something is wrong here? _I cried frantically, stabbing at the mental barrier with renewed vigor even as my body delivered a spinning kick to the Hylian's face. _Can you not see the puppeteer pulling the strings! You know me! You know I would never hurt you! Think, dammit! See past your pain, and look into your heart! You know this is not me!_

Time seemed to stand still as the battle raged on; me and Link against the blood bond – Link against my possessed body, me against my possessor. Neither conflict progressed in the direction of victory or defeat. Both remained at a stalemate. Link and I were equally matched, our strengths lying in the other's weakness, just as the blood bond's wall remained unyielding to my mental attacks.

Just when I thought the skirmish would persist until our dying days, the Megaton Hammer swung from out of nowhere. It collided with my stomach and the force of the blow sent me flying to the bottom of the stairs, my body slumping against the landing, motionless. Separated from my body as I was, I did not feel the pain of the attack, but the realization that struck me as Link stood over me, sword poised over my chest, was strong enough to equate to the physical force.

This was it. I would die on the Master Sword and would be freed from this curse. Anticipating the final blow, I relaxed my efforts to break through the barrier in my mind. There was no further need overcome the bond. If I had control over my lips, I would have smiled. Eyes dark as a stormy sky, an uncertain fairy hovering by his head, the blue glow of her body highlighting the deep grooves and creases of his tense, angry expression, Link stabbed his sword of holy steel down –

– And jerked to a stop, hesitating, the tip of the sword an inch above my heart. Before my trapped mind could process the abrupt change of events, the blood bond countered, rolling me out from under him. Before Link or I could react, my chain whip was in my hand, the sinuous coil flicking out like a cobra strike. The thin, but strong metal links constricted tightly around the blonde's torso like a python, locking his arms to his sides. The Master Sword clattered to the ground as the chain whip bit into Link's wrist, weakening his grip. Unable to wriggle free of the coils, the blood bond swept my legs against the hero's ankles, kicking his legs out from under him. With a startled cry, Link fell backwards, his head smacking brutally against the steps. Pain twisted his features seconds before his celestial eyes went dark and slid closed, unconscious.

By the time I realized what was happening, I was already straddling Link's chest, Navi buzzing around me, screaming Link's name as my bandaged fingers yanked his head back by the hair, exposing the vulnerable flesh of his throat. With an irritated gesture, the blood bond jerked my free hand at the hysterical fairy, swatting at her like an oversized fly. The back of my hand connected with her small body and with a soft thump, she dropped to the ground, insect wings still and blue glow dimming to faint pulse. A moment later, dagger appeared in my second hand, its blade pressed flush to the tender, caramel skin of the hero's neck.

Everything clicked into place, and time started up again in double time.

_No! _I screamed frantically, passion and panic fueling me as I threw all my emotions and willpower against the barrier. The mental wall buckled under the vehement, desperate force of my attack, then shattered like a crystal goblet dropped onto a marble floor. Like a surge of water bursting through a broken dam, I slid back into my limbs, jerking the knife away seconds before the blood bond could slash Link's throat open.

Intense agony assaulted me – pain previously numbed – and it nearly drove me back into the painless shadows of my skull. The worst pain was in my stomach; white-hot anguish burned me as if the Megaton Hammer had punched a hole through my gut. Instantly, I knew I was bleeding internally, but not if the wound was mortal. Grinding my teeth, I fought both the pain and the blood bond, which was already pressing against me, trying to regain control or at very least, drive the dagger in my hand down another inch or so.

_I will not kill, Link!_ I shouted fervidly to myself, hand shaking under strain. _I will __**not**__!_

Unbidden, something stirred in my mind and before I could grasp what was happening, I found myself staring not at Link's unconscious form, but a memory of the round, cheery face of an eleven-year-old Zelda.

"_Oh, please, Sheik? Just for a little while?" Zelda implored in a high, sweet voice that clashed severely with the dirt-smeared tunic, leggings, boots and straw hat she had borrowed from the stable boy. She was brandishing a simple, dark blue frock in one hand and a hooded cloak in the other._

_I scowled petulantly up at her. "Princess, you know you are not allowed outside the palace unsupervised, nor am I permitted to expose myself to those outside the Royal Family."_

"_I know. That's why I borrowed this cloak and scarf so you could hide your hair and face." Some of the eagerness drained from her oceanic eyes and her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "I __**never**__ get to have any fun, and I am always stuck in the castle listening to all those boring lessons. I just want to explore Castle Town for a few hours as a normal girl, and not a princess with chaperones and Impa scolding me for not behaving like a 'lady.' If you are with me, I will be protected. Pretty please, Sheik?"_

_For a long moment, I stared at her, debating. Then, with a heavy sigh and a deep scowl, I snatched the dress out of her hands and growled, "If we are caught and Astar finds out I dressed like a girl, I will never, as long as I live, forgive you–"_

– _An unfamiliar emotion surged up inside of me as I stared in awe at the confused blond boy at the foot of the Temple of Time. So powerful was the sensation I did not even react when Zelda pushed past the crowd of angry vendors surrounding him, proclaiming she would pay for his food. Even when Zelda seized both me and the boy by the hand, towing us away from the Temple and through the plaza at a run, I could not shake the strange tightness in my chest, nor stop my eyes from drifting over to the boy. He was so beautiful..._

_My daze persisted all the way to the back alley where Zelda pulled me and the green-clad boy to a halt; I barely heard her introduce herself as Adlez and invite him to play with us, as if Astar had stuffed cotton wads into my ears again and I had forgotten to remove them. Only when the boy turned his eyes to me – those gorgeous, sky blue eyes – did I snap out of my trance. Sticking out a small, gold-toned hand to me, the boy smiled and said, "My name is Link. What's yours?"_

_Staring at the proffered hand, I shakily accepted it. Our clasped hands looked like honey mixed with cream. "Nice to meet you, Link," I said politely, proud when my voice came out steady, in complete contrast to my rapidly beating heart. "I am Shekinah–"_

– _Laughter filled the air, lifting past the tree we sat under and up to the gold-streaked sky. Smiling beautifully at us, Link said, "Thank you for showing me around the town. Now I won't be so lost when Navi and I go to meet Princess Zelda tomorrow."_

_Zelda and I shared a private glance, but before either of us could think up an inconspicuous response, Link leaned close to me. Startled, I withdrew quickly, eyes wide as my heartbeat spiked abruptly, color infusing my face. I was suddenly thankful for the scarf wrapped around the lower half of my face. Nervously, I stammered, "W-what is it?"_

_Like a curious bird, Link cocked his head to the side, staring intently into my face. "You know, Shekinah," he began musingly, "You have really pretty eyes..._

_My heart jerked wildly and even more heat flooded my face as that shapeless emotion welled inside my chest again, making me feel lightheaded and weak. I knew not what this strange draw I felt for Link was, but I did know I wanted to feel more of it..._

As quickly as it came, the memory of my first meeting with Link faded, yet the tight bubble of emotion I had felt remained in my chest, an emotion I now knew to be love. Sweat beaded my brow from exertion, but I felt an undeniable lightening in the pressure on my hand, as if recalling the birth of my childhood love for Link was weakening the blood bond's influence.

Desperate to break the blood bond, I grabbed onto the spiderweb thread of hope and dug deep into my mind, bypassing the seven bleak years following Ganondorf's coup d'état to the night Link awoke:

_The streaming blue light faded, leaving behind a young man clad in green. From the shadows I watched him converse quietly with the fairy fluttering by his shoulder, drinking in the sight of his sun-gold hair, aquamarine eyes, tanned skin, handsome face and lean, muscular body. Gone was the sweet, innocent boy I had cherished in my memory these past seven years, and in his place stood a man more beautiful and heroic than my imagination could ever conjure; reality far surpassed my fanciful imagining._

But looks are not everything_, I reminded myself as Link descended slowly from the pedestal. Silent as the shadows, I stepped into the pale stream of moonlight filtering through the Temple's high windows. Below me, the Hylian paused... and spun around quick as lightning, blade flashing. I caught the sharp edge of the Master Sword on my dagger, admiring the tense lines in his face, the fortitude hardening his celestial eyes. Smirking behind my cowl, I let out a short, soft laugh and straightened slowly, sheathing my dagger. "You'll do," I commended, humor coloring my tone. "Welcome back, Hero of Time."_

_Link, who had been standing wary and anxious, sword at the ready, suddenly relaxed his stance, blue eyes widening. Something about me must have struck a memory, because, in an awestruck voice, he questioned hesitantly, "Shekinah? But... but you are... you are a..."_

"_A man?" I finished for him, my amusement apparent now. I felt my childhood adoration for him swell in my chest, morphing, changing, deepening into a more powerful passion. In that moment, I finally realized I had not merely glorified Link in my memories. I really was in love with this beautiful, brave hero. "Yes. I am. Princess Zelda was not the only one cross-dressing that day seven years ago. My real name is Sheik; Sheik of the Sheikah Tribe. I have waited a long time for your return. Consider me your humble guide."_

The emotion intensified in my chest, filling me with a sense of warmth. The blood bond buckled under the weight of the memory, and pressure on my hand dropped a notch, allowing me to lift the dagger a hair's breadth away from Link's neck. Again, I dove into my past, sifting through my memories as a jeweler sifted for gold.

_Clapping a gauntleted hand on my shoulder as we passed through the vine-curtained path leading from the Great Deku Tree's Meadow, Link said with a grateful smile, "I owe you one, Sheik. Had you not knocked me to the ground and clued me in on how to defeat Phantom Ganon, I would be a pile of charred ash right now. You have my tha–"_

_Link broke off suddenly, stopping as the narrow pathway opened up to the Kokiri Forest. Prying my gaze from his face, I, too, looked. The forest had been cleansed, purged of the Deku Babas, Mad Scrubs and Octoroks. The Kokiri were running around outside, frolicking through the grass and wildflowers, their musical, child-like laughter filling the damp, fragrant air. When I returned my gaze to Link, I felt my heart leap in my chest. The pure joy spreading across his face upon seeing the restoration of his childhood home was like watching the sun rise, bathing the world in its warm light. Even I, who had never before visited the Forest, felt Link's elation; seeing him happy was enough to please me –_

–_The last jaunty notes of the Bolero of Fire faded into the wavering, heated air, and with deliberate slowness, I returned my lyre to its place behind my tabard. Before me, Link lowered the Ocarina of Time from his lips, and for a long moment, I merely stared into the bright blue skies of his irises. I felt drowsy, almost as if I was falling under the spell of his eyes..._

_...And suddenly found myself staring not at Link in the Death Mountain Crater, but __**up**_ _at him in an enclosed space I recognized to be Darunia's chambers, flat on the floor. With a groan, I sat up slowly, feeling lightheaded. Groggy, I glanced at the Hylian, and asked, "What happened?"_

"_You fainted from the heat," he responded, his concerned tone belied by an undercurrent of hilarity. As it was, he was fighting to hold back a smile, and failed miserably, a wide grin splitting his face. "You actually __**fainted**__, just like a damsel in distress! Are Sheikah even supposed to __**do**__ that?"_

_He yelped when I clocked him upside the head, scowling crossly behind my cowl to cover up my embarrassment. Yet, a small, guilty part of me enjoyed being rescued by Link–_

–_Link pulled a disgusted face, leaning over the side of his cot to spit the greenish liquid onto the floor. "Are you trying to kill me?" he demanded hotly as he dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, face flushed, though whether it was from the fever or anger, I knew not. "That shit is rancid!"_

"_On the contrary, Hero, I am trying – futilely, I might add – to nurse you back to health, a feat which will be quite the challenge if you refuse to take your medicine," I said dryly, pushing him back onto the thin bedroll. "Now stop acting like a child and drink the potion like a big boy. And, please, do not spit it back up. Doctor Mizumi was kind enough to offer us shelter. I doubt he will appreciate you spewing tonic all over his laboratory."_

_Snatching the cup from my hand, the hero glared resentfully at me and bit out, "You were in the Water Temple with me. How come you're not the one sick and chugging this glop?"_

_As I watched Link down the green medicine, I shrugged loftily and said with amused superiority, "I stayed dry._

_The face-full of slimy, green tonic was worth hearing Link's laughter; laughter in which I soon joined, out merriment carrying on until our sides ached and tears of mirth rolled down our cheeks–_

–_Another ghostly wail and cackle of maniacal laughter echoed throughout the bone-and-rock walls of the Shadow Temple. Beside me, Link jumped with twitchy paranoia, casting a concerned glance at the barred door of the abandoned cell we had settled into for the night. With a sigh, he shifted closer to me and I stiffened in surprise when he rested his head against my shoulder. When I glanced questioningly down at him, he lifted his eyes to me, face thrown into a sharp contrast of gold and black from the dancing light of the scrap-wood-and-rag campfire. Voice quiet, almost timid, he asked, "Sheik, do you mind if I stay like this? It's just... being near you calms me down a little..."_

_Although he could not see it through my cowl, I smiled gently, my body relaxing as I reached up to stroke his hair, my fingers threading through the fine, golden strands. "Of course not," I said softly, lowering my hand back to the floor where it belonged. "Stay as long as you like. I will watch over you."_

_Link smiled gratefully, his tired eyes sliding closed, and his fingers lacing with mine. "Thank you, Sheik..."_

_I did not reply, merely reveled in his gentle touch, the heat of his body, and the peaceful sound of his breathing. Afterwards, I could never remember when exactly it was he fell asleep or how many hours passed while we sat in that cold, dank cell, staying on high alert for any shadow creatures lurking in the gloom. But none of that mattered. Even though I had remained awake all night, I knew I would always remember that time as the best night of my life, watching Link while he slept serenely against my shoulder and knowing I was his only source of comfort in the dark, frightening temple–_

Each memory rammed into me, reminding me of the love I felt for Link, grounding me, strengthening me, numbing me to the pain and the pressure of the blood bond. I felt the blood bond crack under the force of my emotion, the gravitation on my hand weakening so suddenly the dagger flew up into the air several inches. The blood bond had been damaged, but not entirely destroyed. Not yet. Not yet. But it would be, for now I knew I was stronger than it. Now I knew I had the strength to disobey Ganondorf's final command.

Turning the dagger around in my hands, aiming it toward _my_ chest instead of Link's, I gathered the entire weight of my bursting, combustible love for Link into one compact ball and snarled fiercely, "I _will not_ obey! I _will not_ kill Link! I am not your slave anymore!" Thrusting all of my emotions and willpower against the parasitic force of the blood bond, I drove the dagger home, piercing through cloth, dragon-scale armor and flesh.

White-hot pain seared through me as the blood bond shattered under the force of my emotions and willful defiance. Like a dropped lantern on a pile of dried, dead weeds, the agony of the broken bond burst outward like fire, consuming my entire body in lightning hot pain. Reflexively, I clutched the dagger protruding from my chest as I fell off Link's unconscious form, curling in on myself. Lava burned through my veins, my nerves, my organs, everything. No amount of torture at Ganondorf's hand could ever equate to the pain of the shattered blood bond. One way or another it seemed, Ganondorf was determined to kill me. The pain seemed to reach its boiling point inside of me, the pressure of it all at its maximum. Just when I thought I could bear no more, the fragmented bond and pain exploded like a volcanic eruption, a reddish black haze ejecting from my body like a belch of smoke.

I cried out once in pain, the last of my energy draining as the blood bond and agony faded, dragging me down into darkness.

* * *

**Glossary/Translation**

_Chab'uhcac _= an offensive name akin to bastard or asshole

* * *

**A/N:** Not much in the way of my own special twists. However, this chapter was incredibly difficult for me to write (which is partly why it took so long for me to update). Between figuring out a way to skirt around the easy (and in my opinion, cheating) shortcuts the game provides, such as warping to the Temples while still keeping Zelda hidden and struggling to accurately describe Sheik's struggle with the blood bond, my creative talents were stretched to a maximum. If you liked it, please review. All my readers' opinions matter to me =)


	4. Half Healed Wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. If I did, Sheik would be his own person rather than Zelda in disguise, he'd be in more of the games, and the Sheikah would be more prominent characters. The only things I own are the characters Astar, Inianna and Io, and certain, made-up words of the Sheikah language.

**Warnings**: Slight spoiler for the manga, mainly in the form of Sheik talking about the Great Betrayal. For the story overall, Sheik is a male and separate from Zelda, there are spoilers for the manga and game, and I played around with the Sheikah culture and Sheik's appearance.

**A/N: **Ugh, another late update. I am very sorry for the wait, but real life caught up with me these past few weeks, and as much as it pained me, I had to place _Bound by Blood _on the sidelines. But I devoted all of today and yesterday to finishing the last half of the chapter, and here it is. The translations for the Sheikah language are provided at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Half-Healed Wounds

Roaring. Trembling. The ground was shaking, rattling, buckling as if an earthquake was ripping through the terrain. The sky was shattering, falling to the earth like rain. No... Not the sky, but glass... Twilight-colored glass. My eyes slid closed...

...And reopened, a pair of brown leather boots now blocking my blurry line of vision. Somewhere above me, a beautiful female voice cried, "There is no time for hesitation! The castle is crumbling around us, and I will not leave him here! Now do as I say!"

* * *

Something wedged underneath me. The ground fell away, but the shaking and roaring did not cease. It increased. The world swayed and tossed to and fro like a ship caught in a storm. Pain seared through my torso, dragging me back under the dark waters of unconsciousness.

I awoke with my head cradled on someone's lap. A golden power rushed through me. Gloved hands were pressed to my chest. They were stained scarlet with blood. A glow the color of the sunset surrounded them.

"Oh, Goddesses... don't die..." a voice whispered, the same woman from before. "Please don't die..." The voice gasped. "Link, watch out!"

_Link_... The name echoed in my head. I lifted my eyes. The brilliant light of flames burned them. A ring of fire. Inside was a hulking, black beast. It towered over a splash of green and gold.

* * *

"If you restore the Master Sword to its pedestal and return the Ocarina of Time to me, as a Sage, I can send you back to your original time, before all of this hap-"

"I appreciate the offer, Zelda. Truly, I do. But I cannot go back. I have seen too much, done too much. After waking up from my seven year sleep, I found my physical self had aged into a man, but my mind was still that of a boy. If I returned to my own time, I would be an adult trapped in a child's body. It would not be a childhood anymore. I am sorry, but I wish to remain here. Besides, I cannot bear to surrender the friendships I have forged in this time... no matter how painful..."

* * *

Daylight. A thatched roof. A familiar bed. Worried eyes, the color of sapphires. Pink lips moved; a high, sweet voice escaped, but I could not understand the words. A sigh. Something cool and wet touched my forehead; a damp cloth...

* * *

Nighttime. The same thatched roof. The same familiar bed. Different eyes, these the color of an afternoon sky. Different emotions; hurt, anger, confusion and a hint of something else, something harder to read.

"Why can I not stay away?" a voice murmured softly, as if to oneself. "Why is it, every night, I am drawn to your side, even when I tell myself not to? Why do I still...?"

* * *

My eyelids fluttered, and radiant yellow light flooded my sight. Groaning, I screwed my eyes shut and turned my head away, brow furrowed.

There had been sounds of glass clanking together, of someone moving about the room. Those noises ceased, and a tentative voice asked, "Sheik…?"

I knew that voice. Cracking my eyes open to mere slivers, I squinted into the light. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the blinding light actually originated from a single lit candle. Its dim glow only barely lit my surroundings. Opening my eyes a little wider, a blurry face entered my field of vision. Sluggishly, I blinked several times and the image cleared, revealing a worried Zelda peering anxiously down at me. When my eyes finally focused on her, the concern melted from her fair countenance.

"Oh, thank Nayru!" the princess breathed in palpable relief, looking very much as if she wanted to throw herself at me, but was holding back. Instead, she brushed a bare hand across my forehead. Even in my weakened state, I did not miss the slight tremble of her fingers. "You are finally awake..."

"Finally?" I questioned, bewildered, then coughed violently, an ache throbbing through my torso at the action. My voice was raspy and dry as if from disuse; it tickled the back of my throat. Wordlessly, she handed me a goblet of water, which I happily drained in two long gulps. Refreshed, I handed the empty cup back to her and tried again. "What are you-?"

Before the words could fully leave my lips, it all came rushing back to me: Zelda's capture; Ganondorf's torture and final command; the fight with Link; the blood bond's possession; straddling Link's unconscious form, a knife pressed against his throat. Eyes flying open wide, I shouted, "Link!" and shot upright. A painful throb stabbed me in the stomach, and a hiss snaked through my teeth in response.

Laying a gentle hand on my shoulder, Zelda carefully but firmly urged me back down into a reclining position, ordering softly, "Please lie still. You are still recovering from your wounds."

"But Link-!"

"-Is fine," she assured kindly, smiling faintly as she touched my face with a soothing hand.

Relief surged through me as my abrupt panic abated. Breathing in slowly, deeply, I forced myself to relax and observe my surroundings. The small room – furnished with a mirror, a wash basin, a vanity and a chamber pot – was instantly recognizable as the bedroom Astar and I had shared when we were not living in the castle. I was laying naked on one of the straw mattresses, a thin cotton sheet thrown over me more for modesty than warmth. By the bedside was a small table, littered with plates of half-eaten food, bandages, a mortar and pestle, herbs – both crushed and whole – and bowls of water, some bloody, others clean. Zelda sat in a chair beside me, dressed in a simple, brown velvet frock. Her arms were bare to the elbows and her blond hair was piled high atop her head.

There were no guards, no locked doors, no walls of evil magic surrounding us, nothing to suggest the princess and I were being held captive in Impa's cottage, awaiting our doom. Unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I asked, voice dry and rasping, "Were... were we victorious?"

A fatigued, but elated smile lit Zelda's beautiful face. "Yes. Yes, we won, if only just..." she confirmed, then proceeded to regale me with an exciting account of the final battle: how Link defeated the King of Evil with the combined might of the Master Sword's hallowed steel and his Light Arrows; how, in his dying moments, Ganondorf tried to drag them into void with him by crumbling the castle with his Triforce piece; how they were forced to flee the collapsing tower, dodging falling chunks of the ceiling, avoiding panicked monsters, leaping over gaps in the floor.

"Halfway down the tower we ran into you. There was so much blood, I was sure you were dead..." Zelda's voice cracked, but she cleared her throat, and began again, voice wavering only slightly. "But then Link pointed out that you were still breathing and assured me you were merely unconscious. There was even a bandage wrapped around your chest to slow the bleeding of that awful stab wound."

At these words, my throat tightened and a shapeless emotion welled up inside of me. A bandage, huh? I knew none of Ganondorf's minions cared whether I lived or died, and I would have let myself bleed to death there on the stairs, conscious or not. Link was the only remaining, logical candidate. He must have patched me up once he came to... which meant he still held some semblance of affection for me, even in the face of my supposed betrayal. My heart throbbed.

Zelda, who had been wordlessly watching me, started up her narration again, "Once I was sure you were still alive, I instructed Link to carry you out, but... he seemed reluctant to do so, almost as if he was torn… as if he was battling some internal dilemma." Here, the blonde punctuated her story with a pointed, meaningful glance. When I offered no response concerning Link's hesitation, she sighed before continuing, "We thought it was over once we escaped the Castle, but then, Ganondorf emerged from the ruins in the form of a horrible, bestial monster." The princess's voice trembled with remembered fear. "Never before have I felt so helpless, so powerless. Link was beyond my aid, trapped in a ring of fire, battling for all our lives, and you were bleeding in my lap, dying. The worst part of it all was the Triforce of Power would not allow Ganondorf to die. In the end, Link could only weaken him, so the Sages and I were forced to seal him in the Sacred Realm. It was all we could do. But at least it is finally over..."

A drawn-out sigh of relief rushed from my lungs as a sudden, much-missed lightness lifted my heart, like a warm updraft under an eagle's wings. Feeling as if a ten-ton weight had been lifted from my shoulders, I sagged against the pillows, my eyes sliding closed. _He's gone_... _Ganondorf is finally gone… I am free, never to be enslaved by him again_...

The sound of splashing water drew me from my thoughts in time to see Zelda wringing out a wet rag before leaning over to lay it across my forehead. "Afterwards, Link and I hurried you to Kakariko to heal." Sitting back in her seat, hands folded delicately in her lap, the princess's oceanic eyes held a haunted expression as she continued, "You barely survived. Sealing away the Black King exhausted me of my magic, so I have been forced to rely almost solely on natural remedies. It has been a challenge. Nearly every time I tried to administer the potion to you, either as it was or mixed with broth, you would vomit it back up. But now that you are awake, hopefully we can make some real progress. Do you think you can keep down some bread?"

"I cannot guarantee it, but I am willing to try," I warned, suddenly aware of a gnawing hunger in my stomach at the mention of food. Grudgingly, I allowed her to pile the feather pillows behind me and guide me into a half-sitting position. Even the slight shift from laying flat on my back to reclining sent a pulsing ache through my stomach. A pained hiss issued from between my teeth.

"I know it hurts," Zelda murmured consolingly, tearing off a chunk of bread and watching me intently as I nibbled cautiously on it, trying to pace myself. "You took quite the blow to the stomach. I cannot tell you how long I toiled in order to stanch the internal bleeding. What little reserves of my magic I had left were poured into that injury. It was almost beyond my ability to mend, especially in my weakened state. You are lucky to be alive, Sheik."

Suddenly, the bread tasted like ash in my mouth and my ravenous appetite evaporated. Swallowing thickly, I lowered my eyes, taking in the foreign sight of my long, naked fingers clutching the hard bread in my lap.

"No. I am lucky to be in one piece," I amended dryly, recalling my wound's origin. "I have seen Link break bodies in two and snap spines with his Megaton Hammer. I count myself abnormally fortunate that an ugly bruise and internal bleeding was all I suffered. Remind me to thank my tailor for sewing dragon-scale armor into the fabric of my battlesuit. It saved my life."

_Twice in fact, _I recalled on the side. _When I broke the blood bond, I would have pierced my heart with the dagger had the armor not impeded its penetration._

However, I decided not to voice this as Zelda's sapphire blue eyes widened. Horrified, she whispered, "Link was the one who inflicted this wound?"

Speaking abruptly became painful as my throat closed around itself, so instead, I nodded reluctantly, biting off a piece of bread simply for something to do. To this, the Hylian princess said nothing, choosing to sit in brooding silence as she crushed herbs and mixed them into her potion. Knowing I would catch hell if I stopped eating, I quietly choked down the bread, fighting the painful memories and nausea.

When the last bit of bread vanished between my lips, Zelda poured the medicine into a roughly hewn wooden goblet and handed it wordlessly to me, still deep in thought. Peering warily down at the thick, blue tonic swimming in the cup, I sipped tentatively at it... and pulled a disgusted face. It tasted like mushrooms, scummy lake water and roasted frogs... ironically enough, a supper Link and I had shared at the edge of Lake Hylia before plunging into the Water Temple. The meal itself had been disagreeable when separate, but combined, it was putrid.

"It's no wonder why I kept vomiting this up. It's vile," I muttered under my breath, but nevertheless, held my breath and chugged the slimy tonic as quickly as I could without gagging. A revolted shudder crawled down my spine, and I swallowed thickly against the bile rising in my throat.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Sheik," Zelda reproached sharply, thrusting another hunk of bread into my hands. I tore into it more to rid my mouth of the potion's rancid aftertaste than out of a desire to eat. "I must know. What happened between you and Link? How did you defy Ganondorf's command and break your blood bond with him? Link has not been to see you since we arrived in Kakariko, nor will he speak anything of it."

A different kind of pain stabbed at my chest. As my eyes drifted closed, I saw again the furious battle between us, heard the anguish and betrayal in his voice, felt my own heartbreak and desperation. Sighing through a mouthful of bread, I swallowed before meeting my lady's eyes and responding in a hollow voice, "I never told Link anything of blood bonds. He knows nothing of them; not what they are, what they entail, what they can force the Sheikah to do, and most certainly not that I shared one with you and Ganondorf."

Covering her mouth with one hand, Zelda's eyes widened in dawning horror, as if she could sense what direction my tale was taking. I stared at the wall straight ahead and even though I kept my exposed face emotionless, I felt my jaw tightening as I spoke, "When Link and I met on the stairs, it was all I could do to keep my own body from fulfilling Ganondorf's. The blood bond had already forced me to unsheathe a dagger and poise it over Link's heart. Yet, I had enough strength left in me to fight it, to keep myself from stabbing him... that is, until Ganondorf called out to me and reinforced his order. I... I lost myself... The blood bond seized control of me, like a parasitic demon, and did battle with Link while I was trapped within my own body. All Link saw was me – his friend – attacking him… betraying him…. He could not see past his pain to see the puppeteer pulling on the marionette's strings. He believes me a traitor..."

The princess opened her mouth to respond, but a knock on the door cut through the bitter silence. Straightening up in surprise, and in a knee-jerk reaction, she called out, "Enter."

The door opened and Inianna backed into the room, carrying a silver tray laden with fruit, soup and wheel of goat cheese. "Good evening, my lady," she greeted in a hushed tone, turning to face Zelda as the princess stood to retrieve the tray. "How is-?" The sweeping arc of her ruby gaze traveled from Zelda to me. The minute our eyes met, she froze, scarlet irises widening. Then...

"Sheik!"

A surprised, pained grunt pushed past my lips as Inianna all but threw herself at me, the tray of food falling from her hands. With incredible, nimble speed, Zelda caught the tray in midair, saving it from crashing to the floor. Only a few grapes and a bit of soup that sloshed over the bowl's rim had been sacrificed to gravity.

"Oh, _foh'dwar_!Oh, thank the Goddesses! You're awake! Sheik!" Inianna was sobbing hopelessly into my shoulder, the full weight of her body pressing forcefully on my bruised torso.

"Ow, ow, ow! Inianna, that hurts!" I grunted roughly and pushed on her shoulders to ease her away from me, wincing painfully. "Damn, girl... Be careful..."

Scandalized, she bolted upright, her fist pressed to her lips, tears streaming from her eyes. "Sheik... I'm so sorry... I did not think..." she whimpered, then buried her face in her hands as she burst out crying. "I was s-so scared! I f-feared you would never w-wake up! When… when…"

"When Her Highness told us what you did for her up in the Tower, we were sure even one as strong as you would perish from the extent and severity of your wounds," finished a voice I had not anticipated to hear. Surprised, I shifted my gaze from Inianna's silver head to stare into Astar's maroon eyes, half-hidden by his shock of white hair. Though his expression was grim, there was no coldness in his voice as he addressed me, "After all, your blood bond with the Black King was what prevented your wounds from killing you. Until you had fulfilled Ganondorf's final order, it would not allow you to die. At least, that is what Her Highness, Mother and I have concluded. But once you shattered the bond and the magic empowering you vanished, your injuries drove you to the brink of death. You had us concerned, _htram'dwar_."

My breath caught at Astar's affectionate term, and I stared at him in confusion. Not once, in all the years I had lived with Impa, had he called me _htram'dwar_. His nicknames had always consisted of _dafiddma_, _chab'uhcac_, or _bam'dirac_. And he certainly had never spoken to me with a complete lack of scorn and contempt as he did now. There was respect in his voice, the kind of admiration a man obtained when he had been humbled.

However, I bypassed my amazement for the moment, turning my eyes to Zelda instead. "Princess…" I began slowly, watching her as she set the tray down on the little table. "When we were in the Tower, did you… honor my request?"

At first, she remained mute, silently handing me the wooden bowl of soup. I accepted it, but did not drink; I was awaiting my answer. Inianna and Astar looked between us, evidently curious. Finally, Zelda's ocean blue eyes locked with mine, her expression tormented as she whispered, "Forgive me, Sheik, but I did not." A sigh issued from my lips, but before I could scold her, she continued, "I tried to avert my eyes, yet I found myself unable to... My conscience screamed at me every time I looked away, bellowing at me for my wrongdoing, reminding me of your sacrifice and how if you had not stepped in, I would have suffered your fate. I could not, in good conscience, turn a blind eye while you were tortured on my behalf, especially when it was I who brought such a tragedy upon you. I viewed it as my penance for thrusting you into the lion's den and so I might suffer along with you, even if only a little."

"And here I thought only the Sheikah were masochists," I muttered under my breath, frustrated. "Princess, I am your Guardian. It is my _duty _to protect you from all harm, physical _and _mental. That is why I took your place and that is why I asked you to look away; to _protect _you, to fulfill my blood oath to you and to save my most beloved friend. Enough with this talk of penance. It was not you who suggested my role as a double agent, but Impa."

"Yes, but I agreed to it!" Zelda argued vehemently, her voice breaking as tears welled in her eyes. "When I ordered you to work as a spy, being bound to me, you had no choice but to obey! I am as every bit responsible as Impa and Ganondorf for the pain you endured in that wretched hell-pit! You are not just my Guardian, Sheik, but my friend and I condemned you to five long years of vile torture at Ganondorf's wicked hand! So, yes! I needed atonement for what I did! I _wanted _to punish myself for all the pain you endured!"

"Zelda…" I murmured gently, my heart aching as I watched the dignified Hylian princess weeping helplessly behind the shield of her hands. "You could not have known. Even with your gift of foresight, you could not have known Ganondorf would have been as… _taken_… with my appearance as he was. A double agent was necessary and Impa approved of none but me. In her mind, combat skills, cool disposition and undying loyalty to you and Link made me the perfect candidate, one who would never betray you or compromise our position. If offered the chance to take back any of our actions in these past seven years, I would have changed nothing and endured Ganondorf's abuse all over again if it meant bringing about his downfall."

Silence greeted my pronouncement, all three of them at a loss for words. Though tears continued to stream down her face, Zelda's sobs had ceased and she watched me with speechless gratitude, beautiful even with red, puffy eyes.

"We would not be sitting here today had it not been for you, Sheik..." Inianna observed pensively, snuggling against my side like a long-haired, silver kitten. "Hyrule is ignorant of all you have sacrificed for her..."

Crooking an arm around her shoulders, I kissed the side of her head softly and said quietly, but firmly, "And she will remain ignorant. Only the Hero of Time and the Princess of Destiny shall be credited with defeating the King of Evil. Hylians outside the Royal Family and native Kakariko villagers view us Sheikah with fear and disgust. Double agent or not, Hyrule's people would not look kindly upon me knowing I worked within the beast's lair. All they would see is a Sheikah who was in league with Ganondorf and as far as they are concerned, shadows and evil are one in the same... Hyrule can never know."

"But the Sheikah can," Astar interjected suddenly, unhitching himself from the wall to kneel by the bedside. "The other races of Hyrule may remain forever ignorant of your sacrifices, but that does not mean your own people must remain uninformed as well. Sheik… brother… all these years, I have been cruel and intolerant towards you… jealous, even, for the attention Mother invested in you and the talent you, a mere orphan boy, possessed. I never accepted you as part of my family, blinded by my bitterness towards you. But after Princess Zelda informed me of your heroic deeds in Ganon's Castle and of the pain you willingly, silently endured without the faintest waver in your loyalty, I finally saw the error of my ways. You are indeed worthy of belonging to this family and you deserve to be heralded as the hero you are. Please, _htram'dwar_, accept my apologies and allow me to preach of your noble sacrifices to all the Sheikah none will ever speak ill of you again!"

For a moment, I could only stare at my foster brother in awe, eyes wide and expression frozen. I could barely believe my ears. Then, a smile split my face, softening my expression, and I reached around the gaping, openmouthed Inianna to clasp Astar on the shoulder. "Your acceptance was all I ever asked of you, brother," I told him honestly. "Of course I accept your apologies. As for my deeds, I would rather keep that knowledge between the four of us..."

Gripping my arm in return, Astar flashed his filed canines at me in a toothy grin as he corrected, "You mean six. I have already passed the information on to Mother and Kiah."

I frowned at the mention of Impa and his fiancée. "Then why ask my permission if you already proceeded to spread the word around?"

"Family doesn't count, Sheik."

"But Kiah cannot be counted as family until you two are officially wed..."

"Boys," interrupted Zelda, wiping away the last of her tears. "As thrilled as I am to see you two finally acting like siblings, there are still matters from the night of Ganondorf's fall I must discuss with Sheik." Turning to me, she questioned, "You said the blood bond seized control of your body... if this is so, then how did you disobey Ganondorf's direct order?"

At these words, my elation at finally being accepted by my step-brother promptly burst like a dying Dodongo. Sighing, I drank deeply from soup bowl, ignoring how the onion broth scalded my tongue. "It is complicated..." I confessed heavily. "Link had gained the upper hand in our battle, but hesitated before delivering the final blow, thus allowing the blood bond to retaliate. It forced me to knock Link to the floor; he must have hit his head on the stairs fairly hard, for he was unconscious when I stood over him, dagger drawn. Realizing the blood bond would force me to kill him, panic overcame me, so powerful that when I threw my mind against the bond's mental barrier, it broke. I was able to regain partial control over my body, enough to stop myself from cutting his throat. However, I was in no better position than I had been before I was possessed, for the blood bond remained, compelling me to obey and threatening to overshadow me again if I refused. Then, a strange thing happened... In the midst of fighting the blood bond's compulsion, the memory of my first encounter with Link sprang to mind."

Seeking out Zelda's eyes, I inquired softly, "Do you remember it, my lady? The day you and I snuck out of the castle dressed as peasants? You were the stable boy, Adlez, and I was, Shekinah, the princess's lady-in-waiting."

A fond smile spread across Zelda's shapely lips. "Yes, I remember. The memory often lent me joy when the horrors of the war brought me despair." Covering her mouth with one hand, she giggled, "Link's expression when he learned 'Adlez' was actually Princess Zelda was priceless."

Smiling faintly in agreement, I continued, "Well, this unbidden memory strengthened me, much to my surprise, allowing me to slightly withdraw the knife from Link's throat. Inspired and encouraged, I forced myself to recall every incident and adventure Link and I had shared, and the progression of our friendship. The more I remembered, the more the blood bond's influence over me weakened and the closer I drew to conquering it."

In a spur of the moment decision, I cut my eyes toward Zelda, and tilted my head slightly to the left; a wordless, childhood signal that I wished to communicate telepathically with her. Keeping my eyes trained on my mistress, I allowed my true thoughts flow to her through our connection as I continued, "I am not entirely sure, but I believe the loyalty and friendship I felt for Link was ultimately what enabled me to shatter Ganondorf's blood bond. Without it, I doubt I could have openly defied Ganondorf by stabbing myself in the chest rather than Link..."

Zelda gasped as the memory of my true feelings washed over her: the love, the fear, the agony and the outright devotion. Though Inianna and Astar no doubt heard her intake of breath, thanks to the nature of my tale, neither of them questioned it. They probably assumed the revelation of my self-harm had startled her... not admittance that my secret love for Link was what truly helped me conquer the blood bond. It was a truth I could share only with Zelda.

As our culture demanded the birth of children so they might one day serve the Royal Family, homosexuality was strictly forbidden amongst the Sheikah. Those who, like me, were born with same-sex tendencies were frowned upon, but as long as we did not voice or act upon our "unfortunate" preferences, there would be no consequences. With the exception of the time my secret was discovered – when Kiah, before she and Astar were courting, openly admitted she fancied me, and I politely informed her I held no desire for women – I had always been careful to keep it concealed. Sheikah champion or not, voicing my love for another male was punishable by law. Doubly so, considering Link was the Hero of Time. If the removal of my tongue was the only punishment for my transgression, I would be fortunate. Furthermore, as my sexuality had always been a sore spot with the strict Astar, I was reluctant to bring attention to it now, particularly when he'd finally accepted me. Even my beloved sister, Inianna, would have been aghast by an open declaration of love. So I revealed the truth to Zelda alone, not because I was required to be honest with her, but because Hylians were in full acceptance of homosexuality. Hell, they even promoted it to reduce overpopulation.

"I cannot believe it…" Inianna murmured beside me, tearing my gaze from the princess's enlightened blue eyes. "You must be the only Sheikah Warrior ever to defy a direct order _and_ break a blood bond. Most of us remain bound until either we or our masters die... Sheik, you will be written into Hyrule's history books for sure. To think the bond of friendship you have with the Hero of Time is so strong it helped you overcome Ganondorf's evil control over you..."

Pain stabbed at my heart, and I lowered my gaze from the faces of the trio surrounding me. "I fear what kinship Link and I once shared is now gone," I confessed wistfully, my fingers tightening around the wooden bowl. "Like most, he is ignorant of blood bonds and so, naturally, he assumes I voluntarily attacked him. If I know Link – and I do – in his pain, he will likely have forgotten how I struggled with myself and pleaded with him to kill me. All he remembers now is how his friend cleverly pretended to be wounded just to draw him in so I could kill him..."

"Sheik," Zelda hedged, her voice faint and eyes wide, still shocked my mental confession. "Why did you not tell Link of blood bonds? You said yourself how curious he was of you and Sheikah life. Why not tell him you were bound to me, acting on my orders?"

"And compromise our position?" I retorted sharply, perhaps a bit harsher than intended. Softening my voice and smothering my frustration, I explained, "Hyrule had ears, Princess. It was not safely to confess outright that I was your servant for fear of being overheard by one of Ganondorf's minions. Even if such a threat did not exist, I would still be bound to secrecy. Ever since _Dlynos de Irc'deaw_, we Sheikah have vowed to keep as much of our culture secret from outsiders, especially the blood bonds. The less people know of us, the better. Secrecy is our only chance of saving our race from extinction…"

None spoke in response to this. My siblings and I silently mourned the lives lost on that bloody night in Sheikah history. Zelda's ashen face and rigid stance told me, she too, was thinking of her grandfather's – the sixteenth King of Hyrule – horrid betrayal of the Sheikah, in which he was single-handedly responsible for wiping out half our population.

Suddenly snapping out of her trance, the Hylian princess ordered, "Inianna, Astar, I would like to speak with Sheik alone for a time. You are dismissed."

Inclining their heads, they murmured in respectful unison, "Milady." Astar rose to his feet, clapping me on the shoulder one last time, and Inianna kissed me affectionately on the cheek before following her brother out the door.

The moment it swung closed behind them, Zelda slid the deadbolt into place and sat on the edge of my bed, a roll of clean linen bandages in her hand. As the princess carefully unwound the bloodied cloth encasing my torso, I suddenly realized it hurt less to move than it had previously. Now that the tonic was in my stomach rather than on the floor, it was actually starting to work. Yanking the final bandage from my chest, Zelda muttered in an annoyed tone, "You Sheikah and your damned secrets. Sheik, why did you not tell me you loved Link sooner?"

"You know why, Princess," I responded with weary patience. "For fear of what my people would do to me if word spread. Besides, I had no reason to. I had a duty to perform and could not have acted on my desires, even if I had nothing to fear of my Tribe. I could not allow my feelings to interfere with keeping you and Link safe. As I heard a merchant once say, business before pleasure."

"Yes, well, your 'business' has been completed," Zelda argued, smearing a cool, stinging salve onto my half-healed injuries. "There is nothing stopping you from telling him now."

"Princess, were you not listening to me?" I demanded, irritated and frustrated. "If the Sheikah ever find out I openly confessed my love to another male, they will mount my head on a silver plaque. The Shadow Folk are not as comfortable with homosexuality as you Hylians."

"Sheik, you spent five years as a double agent in Ganondorf's lair without him ever doubting your fealty to him. And when he _did _learn of your true loyalties, it was when you openly declared your allegiance to me. If there is any man in this world who can maintain a secret, it is you. If you truly love Link, you will find a way to make it work."

Zelda paused in the midst of wrapping the clean bandages around my abdomen to cup my cheek and turn my head to her. In a whisper, she said, "Sheik, all your life, you have sacrificed yourself for others. The only time I have ever seen you act selfishly was eleven years ago when you stole that loaf of bread so you would not starve. After Impa adopted you, you were always thinking of me, of Inianna and Astar, of Impa, and later, of Link, but never yourself. My dear friend, please, for once, do something for yourself. Let yourself love... and be loved in return. You must go to Link. Let your heart be free."

Lowering my gaze, I gently removed Zelda's hand from my face, pressing a kiss to her soft palm before releasing it. "I appreciate the wisdom, my lady, but I fear what futile hope I had of being with Link is now gone," I confessed mournfully. "He believes me a traitor, and thus, I have destroyed both our friendship and his trust."

"Gain it back then," Zelda argued stubbornly, tying the loose ends of the bandages into a knot. "Bend your inflexible Sheikah code just once and explain blood bonds to Link. He will understand." Before I could retort, the blonde cut me off with a curt statement, "If you refrain from informing him, then I shall. Sheikah laws do not bind me."

I closed my mouth with a sharp snap of teeth, only to open it again. "Fine. But there is still the nature of my confession. I will not make a fool of myself by confessing my feelings to a man whom many believe – myself included – is destined to wed you and become the future King of Hyrule. I am doomed to love the light, but the light will never love a shadow."My voice sounded bitter even to my own ears.

"_Wrat'uhcac_."

My eyes sprung open in utter shock as the Sheikah curse left the princess's lips. Blinking in surprise, I found myself unable to respond, allowing Zelda to continue on hotly, "Sheik, I saw the look on Link's face through your memories, heard the words he spoke and blind fear of his voice when he saw you were wounded. Even the most powerful friendship does not exude panic and affection on such an intense level. Furthermore, after the final battle, once most of the chaos had settled down, I offered to send Link back to his original time, back before all of this happened... and he declined. He claimed he could not regain his childhood after all he'd seen, nor could he bear to surrender the friendships he's forged along his adventures. However, I can see the deeper meaning in his words. He fell in love, and he does not want to sacrifice those feelings by returning in time, no matter how much pain they might bring him. But he does not love just anyone. He loves _you_, Sheik; not as a friend, but as a man. I know it. And I know once you explain everything to him, he will forgive you and remember his love. Now…"

Standing, she moved to the trunk at the foot of the bed and flipped open the lid. A moment later, she tossed me my battlesuit, wrappings and tabard. "Do you think you can wear that without your wounds ailing you or should I provide you with a looser outfit?"

With a heavy sigh, I pursed my lips, glaring mildly at her. I knew there would be no reasoning with the princess. She was dead set on me reconciling with and confessing to Link. While I had no scruples with repairing my friendship with the hero, professing my love to him sat like a rock in the pit of my stomach. Yet, I knew if I did not heed her wishes, she would simply command me to confront Link and spill my guts to him in the most mortifying manner she could think up. Surrendering with another sigh, I said, "No, I will be fine. Besides, if I show up in clothing different from my usual, Link will not know who I am."

Satisfied that I was obeying her request, Zelda respectfully averted her eyes from my naked form as I stood gingery. As I dressed, I could not help but wonder why the princess even bothered to look away. After all, my nakedness was no longer a new sight to her. I could only assume she wanted to provide me with the comfort of privacy.

Every muscle in my body protested as I moved, and my injuries throbbed as the skintight fabric of my suit pressed uncomfortably against the half-healed wounds. However, thanks to Zelda's healing salve and tonic, the aches and pains were tolerable. Overall, the sense of comfort and power being in my suit lent me with overshadowed my discomfort. Even though Sheikah law required all unmarried Warriors conceal their bodies, hair and faces, I embraced these rules with more gusto than most, having always been self-conscious.

As I was drawing my cowl into place over my nose, soft arms wrapped around me from behind, a warm body pressing against my spine. "Before you go, Sheik, I should warn you..." Zelda murmured quietly, her voice vibrating between my shoulder blades. "After the final battle, after Link declined my offer to return to his own time... Navi... Navi left... Now that his mission is complete, there was no reason for her to stay, so she just left, completely oblivious to Link's pleas for her to come back. The Kokiri no longer recognize him, the ocarina Saria gave him is in pieces, and Saria herself is the Sage of Forest; since he rejected my offer, Navi was the last connection he had to his childhood... and now she's gone... When you go to see him, please, do not mention her absence... It will only hurt him further."

"Of course, my lady," I said, extracting her hands from my midsection and turned around to face her. "Now, where can I find him?"

"Link has taken to spending most of his days and nights in Kakariko Graveyard," she responded. "Chances are you will find him there. Good luck, my friend. All will be well. I swear it."

Fixing her with an icy stare, I threatened mildly, "If the Sheikah discover this transaction or if Link rejects me in any way, Princess, I will personally strangle you in your sleep."

"I love you, too," she retorted, smiling cheerfully and completely ignoring my threat.

Praying to the Three that I had not lost all sense of my sanity, I yanked a handful of shadows over my body, cloaking myself in darkness. With a final glance at Zelda's beaming, encouraging face, I quietly slipped out the bedroom window.

* * *

The clear night air was comfortably warm and dry outside Impa's cottage, the stars winking down at me from their unbroken plane of black sky. Despite the remnant signs of celebration – emptied kegs of ale, discarded scraps of food, and patches of grass trampled and worn down to dirt from dancing feet – the village itself was deserted. All its civilians, even the most rambunctious party-goers, were asleep in their beds... or on the tavern floor. In any case, either instance suited my purposes just fine. I did not want to be disturbed.

As only the full moon and a few flickering torches lit Kakariko, for once, I did not have to cling to the shadows. Even with the moon's light pouring down on me, her glow did not dispel the shadows I had gathered around myself. Unlike the sun, the moon was gentle on the darkness, allowing it to spread its wings rather than chasing it into corners and alleyways. I was free to walk a direct path to the graveyard without fear of light breaking my concealing spell.

The graveyard unfolded before me, quiet and indifferent. Bathed in the moon's radiance, the cemetery possessed a serene kind of beauty in the way headstones glowed heavenly in the silvery white moonlight, cutting long, black shadows in the ground. Unlike most Hylians, the graveyard did not unnerve me. Quite the contrary, I felt soothed of all my worries and pains. Slowing my pace, I strolled leisurely among the gravestone, eyes closed, bandaged fingers brushing the tops of the limestone tombs. My skin prickled, feeling the spirits of the dead brushing against me like tendrils of smoke, welcoming me, a fellow shadow. Amongst the lingering ghosts, I felt a familial sensation and knew Sheikah souls were mingled among the dead.

Cracking my eyes open to narrow slits, I whispered softly to my Sheikah ancestors, "Souls of past Shadow Folk, do not think poorly of me for what I am about to do." Then, to play it safe, I offered a prayer to the Goddesses, asking them to restrain the Sheikah spirits should they decide to attack me.

As I shifted from my measured stroll back into a brisk, purposeful stride, sound twinged at my tapered ears. At first, I could not identify it and had to strain my ears to detect the noise. However, the deeper I ventured into the graveyard, the clearer it became, until I at last recognized the sound as music. The song had a low-pitched, creeping, haunting melody, and consisted of only a few notes that repeated in a never-ending cycle. The song was as familiar to me as my own body: the Nocturne of Shadow – played on the sweet, airy music of an ocarina.

_Link_….

Heart pounding in my throat, I abandoned my fast-paced gait, and broke into a gentle jog through the cemetery, guided by Link's music. The wispy, transparent spirits swirled around me like disturbed mist, almost indignant that I was ignoring them. As the nocturne's melody lulled me closer and closer to the Shadow Temple, my mind reeled.

If Link hated me for betraying him, then why was he here of all places, so near to the place that had once been a Sheikah stronghold, playing a song of shadows? Was it in remembrance of the time we spent in the Shadow Temple, when fear and horror brought us closer than I had ever dared to dream? Was Zelda right in her prediction of Link's feelings for me, and this place and song brought him solace in remembering how I'd been before my supposed betrayal? Or was it both?

The Royal Family's marble tombstone materialized from the gloom, behind which rose the lofty entrance to the Shadow Temple. And there – sitting cross-legged on the stone platform bearing the emblem of the Shadow Medallion – was Link. His back was to me, playing the Nocturne of Shadows in a continuous stream on the Ocarina of Time. He was alone.

_It is just as Zelda said, _I mused, watching his fingers drift skillfully over the musical instrument. _Navi is gone_...

For a long while, I merely stood below the raised entrance, cloaked in shadow and staring longingly up at the hero, brushing away the occasional, curious spirit. I wondered what I would say to him, but my vocabulary in both the Hylian and Sheikah tongues seemed to have run dry. Every greeting I considered sounded ill-suited for the seriousness of our situation. In the end, I decided to revert back to the methods of the early days, back when Link and I had only a budding friendship. It seemed fitting, considering I was, in a way, starting over.

Clutching the shadows tighter to my body, I dug my fingers into a crevice in the high, dirt-and-stone wall and stealthy scaled up the side. After a minute or so of silent climbing, I reached the top and perched lightly atop the fence barring the Shadow Temple entrance. For a moment longer, I gazed at Link. Even with his eyes closed, I could see the lingering traces of hurt and betrayal in the crease between his golden eyebrows, in the stiffness of his posture, and in the taut anguish on his face.

_This will be no simple task, _I told myself with an inaudible sigh. Drawing upon my reserves of courage, I brushed away the shadows clinging to me like spiderwebs, allowing myself to become visible once again, and produced my lyre from its wrappings. When Link returned to the beginning of the song, I fell back into my old role as a Shadow Guide, plucking the notes of the Nocturne of Shadow in time with Link's ocarina. Only after the first refrain had been completed did the hero fully register the addition of my lyre. He ceased his playing and opened his eyes, turning his head to look at me, face hard and unreadable. Despite the nervous hammering of my heart in my chest, I continued to play through the second refrain and on to the end of the song. Only when the melody's final note faded into silence did I lower my lyre to meet Link's accusing stare.

"What are you doing here?" Link demanded harshly, his voice cold and bitter.

Behind the cowl, I flinched at the callousness of his tone, though outwardly, I exerted nothing but stoic indifference. Willing the throbbing ache in my heart to subside, I slowly lowered myself onto the grass, laying my lyre against the side of the fence. While Link had not moved from his spot, his gauntleted hands tightened around the Ocarina of Time, his sunlight eyebrows slanting down in a vicious V over stony aquamarine eyes.

"What do you want?" he repeated icily, his scowl deepening in response to my silence.

"To explain myself," I answered calmly, relieved my voice did not betray my fears by breaking.

Link let out a glacial, derisive bark of laughter, setting aside the Ocarina to stand and face me. "Explain yourself?" he questioned, his humorless smile quickly fading into a fierce expression. "Oh, you mean how you tried to kill me atop Ganondorf's Tower? If so, you may leave now. I need no explanation, for it was quite clear to me what happened that night."

"No, Hero. Your feelings of hurt and betrayal are blinding you to the truth," I told him, heart heavy in my chest. "You only see our battle, when Ganondorf forced me to duel with you, and therein, this supposed treachery you believe me guilty of. Have you forgotten how I struggled against the Black King's commands, how I begged you to kill me before I was forced to harm you? Do you not see? There were other powers at work, bending my will-"

"No!" Link yelled, violently slashing his hand through the air, cutting me off. "No, do not try to confuse me with your lies! My heart cannot weather further anguish! I have not forgotten the events before your betrayal, but it was nothing more than a ploy, a cowardly ruse to lower my defenses! You knew I would not hesitate to help you if I believed you injured and you used my affection for you so you might murder me for your master!"

My heart sank to my stomach. "I was afraid you would think this," I murmured morosely, bowing my head. Shoving the white-blond strands of hair from my eyes, I raised my chin and again attempted to breach Link's stubborn defense. "Hero, listen to m-"

"No!" the blonde Hylian spat venomously, tensing into a fighting stance as he drew the Master Sword, gripping it with both hands as he angled it at me. "I am through listening to your twisted lies and falling for your dark tricks! You will leave! _Now!_"

Even though I felt as if my beating heart had been torn from my chest, I could not stop the icy hardening of my expression as I stared down the wicked, gleaming blade pointed at me as if I were an enemy. "You would draw your sword against an unarmed man? One who is your friend, no less?"

"You are no friend of mine," Link hissed, twisting the figurative knife all the deeper into my chest. "The Sheik I knew does not exist. He was nothing more than a beautiful lie, a creative figment of your imagination. The true Sheik is the man who betrayed me, the one who boldly stands before me now, falsely preaching to me of his innocence. You are no better than Ganondorf or Dark Link. You are Ganondorf's evil shadow and nothing more!"

Without warning, Link hefted his sword over his shoulder and charged, bellowing a war cry. Eyes narrowed, I firmly stood my ground, watching as the hero rushed at me, raising the Master Sword high into the air, preparing to strike. The blade swung in a downward arc, aimed for my neck. However, I sensed hesitation in the movement. Link's heart was not in the attack. His rage was fueling it, yes, but he did not wish to kill me. Somewhere, beyond his hurt, Link still cared for me. He just needed to be reminded.

My prediction turned out to be accurate, for at the last possible second, Link angled the sword ever so slightly, veering its course toward my shoulder rather than my throat. Seizing advantage of the opening, I caught the flat of the blade between my palms, stopping it dead in its tracks. On the other end of the Master Sword, Link's cerulean eyes widened, shock scribed across his face. Slowly shifting my gaze from the sword tip to his eyes, I glowered fiercely at him through the fringe of my pale hair.

"Tell me, Hero," I intoned coldly, fragments of the hurt and rage his insult brought undercutting my words. "If I am as you say, then tell me why I am able to lay my hands on this sword of holy steel, the Blade of Evil's Bane, which no evil being can touch without being cleaved in two."

Curling my fingers around the sword's edge, I slid one hand down the blade, feeling the sharp metal's stinging kiss against my skin. Crimson blood trickled from my hand over the polished steel. When Link did nothing to free his sword from my obviously weakened grasp, I boldly thrust its pointed tip under my chin, showing him I did not fear its bite. Shocked as he was, the warrior remained frozen, staring wide-eyed at me as I hissed, "_Never _compare me to Ganondorf's filth. You have _no _idea what I have suffered at his hands. For _you_. Now…"

Wrapping my bloodied hand around Link's wrist, I jabbed my thumb into the pressure point below his pulse point and twisted his arm. He yelped in surprise and his grip on the sword hilt broke, leaving the Master Sword in my hands. Before he could react, I chucked the blade over the fence, where it plummeted to the cobblestone walkway with an ear-shattering crash.

"My sword!" Link cried out in alarm as he snapped out of his stunned trance. Whirling around to glare hotly at me, his mouth moved, yet no sound came out. Apparently, he was at a loss for words.

I returned his glower with a wintry one of my own, and pantomimed dusting off my palms as I said coolly, "Let us talk about this matter like civilized beings, shall we?"

For a moment longer, Link's speechless astonishment persisted. Then, he threw a punch at my face. Lighting fast, I caught his fist, and ducked under his arm, twisting the limb behind his back. The blonde yelped in pain, his spine stiffening as I applied a steady pressure to his bent joints.

"Or not…" I countered dryly before lowering my shielded mouth to one long ear, and snarling, "It seems I need to teach you a lesson in ethics, _Hero_."

"What you need to do is release me," Link shot back angrily, jabbing his elbow into my midsection, exactly where his Megaton Hammer had left a half-healed bruise. Pain immediately flared through me. Grunting, I released Link to double over in pain, clutching my stomach as the agony drove me to one knee.

Spinning around, Link whipped his foot at my head. Instinctively, my hands flew up, snatching his ankle in both hands and twisted his foot, yanking downward. Link's surprised cry was cut off when he landed stomach first onto the hard earth, the sudden, violent compression of his lungs expelling the air from his body. While he was winded and stunned, I staggered to my feet with a pained groan, clutching my aching midsection.

"Use your head, Hero," I grunted hoarsely, limping over to extend a helping hand. "I know there is an intelligent brain somewhere beneath those long ears and blond hair. If I were truly working for Ganondorf, would I have fought beside you in the Temples, helped you recover from your more grievous injuries, or rescued you from the Gerudo?"

Link slowly lifted his head from the grass, staring first into my eyes and then at my proffered hand. Slowly, he reached up, the leather of his gauntlet wrapping around my bandaged fingers. But before I could lift him to his feet, his eyes blazed and he bared his teeth at me in a ferocious grimace. With an almighty jerk, the Hylian yanked me head-over-heels to the ground, and I landed solidly on my back, a grunt pushing past my lips. Before I could regain my bearings, a booted foot dug harshly into my chest, pinning me to the earth.

"You aided me because Zelda ordered you to," Link hissed, looming over me like a feral beast as he increased his foot's pressure in my breastplate. "Disobeying her wishes would have revealed your traitorous nature to her."

Glowering up at him, I punched Link in the back if the knee, and twisted out of the way as his legs buckled. He slammed to his knees, and I rolled behind him, locking him in a stranglehold before he could recover. Startled, his hands flew to my arm, trying to tear it away from his throat. In response, I tightened my arm, constricting his airflow enough to control him, but not enough to sever it completely.

"No," I disagreed sharply, ignoring the way he clawed at my arm. "Princess Zelda requested that I teach you the Temple songs and guide you toward the next Sage. Not once did she instruct me to interfere directly. For my own reassurance, I waited outside the Forest Temple for your return, wanting visual confirmation of your success. But when you did not emerge by the third day, I began to fear for your life, and so I entered the Temple to find you struggling to defeat Phantom Ganon. Then, when I saw how terribly burned and wounded you were after the Fire Temple, I decided to join your adventures through the Temples to protect you from enemies... and from your own, reckless behavior. Only after I returned from the Water Temple did Zelda discover my direct involvement, but even then, she neither condoned nor encouraged my actions. She left me to my own devices. If you think I am bluffing, ask her yourself."

"Your own devices? I highly doubt that," Link spat venomously, head-butting me. Staggered, I stumbled away from him, but regained balance with a sequence of back handsprings. However, my gymnastics came with a price when I felt a muscle tear in my stomach. A whole new level of pain seared through my already aching wounds, and my stance wavered. It was slight, but it provided Link with the opening he needed to slam me against the rock wall by the Shadow Temple entrance. Pinning my hands above my head, Link's face was inches from my masked one, his hot breath warming the fabric of my cowl as he growled, "If what you speak is true, then you must have been operating on Ganondorf's orders. He wanted you to help me so you could gain my trust and learn my secrets so he could defeat me."

Forcibly stomping down my body's reactions to Link's intimate closeness, I met his raging, lightning blue eyes with a fiery stare of my own, and deadpanned, "Hero, why would Ganondorf instruct me to assist you in increasing your strength? The Black King wanted you dead, not more powerful. If he had wished me to distract you and lure you into his hands, he would have commanded me to seduce you, and you would be a liar to claim I ever acted as such. Think, Hero. If I was honestly a traitor, would the princess have insisted on saving me?"

"How am I to know what happened in the tower?" Link demanded hotly, tightening his grip on my wrists and pressing closer to me. "It is probable you and Ganondorf staged an act for Zelda's benefit in which you pledged to defeat him and rushed off to 'help me,' when in actuality, you intended to murder me."

My eyes narrowed, and I allowed the full spectrum of my anguish and fury to color my tone as I goaded him, "You truly are still a child trapped in a man's body, Hero. Such a fantastical, overactive imagination."

Using my pinned hands as leverage, I lifted my legs to my chest and wedging my knees between our torsos, kicking Link away from me. He lurched backwards, reeling to regain his balance. Spiriting at him, I intended to knock some sense into his thick skull, but the Hylian recovered quicker than I anticipated, and lunged headlong at me. A resounding thud reverberated throughout the graveyard when our two bodies collided, and crashed to the earth. My back slammed against the hard-packed soil, and Link's muscular body crushed into mine, hot and heavy. There was no doubt I had reopened a few wounds. In addition to the renewed stabbing pain in my stomach, wet warmth dampened my battlesuit above the throbbing pains in my chest, thigh and shoulder. Winded and gasping for breath, I did not struggle when Link held me to the ground by my throat, sitting on my chest.

Gazing up at him and tramping down the swell of heat in my belly at the sight of our compromising position, I asked dryly, wearily, "Do you question Princess Zelda's wisdom, Hero? Do you truly believe the Triforce of Wisdom would not enable her with the power to detect hidden treachery?"

"You are a Sheikah," Link growled in a scathing, accusatory tone. "Many Castle Town refugees spoke tales of how tricky and untrustworthy your kind is. It is possible you are powerful enough to fool even Zelda and her piece of the Triforce. Nothing you say can convince me of your innocence, for if you were truly on our side, you have turned against Ganondorf the second he ordered you to kill me!"

White-hot rage and pain swept through me. My anguished fury must have been apparent in my eyes, for Link recoiled slightly in shock, sky blue irises wide. Fueled by the potent emotions coursing through my veins, I grabbed the hand at my throat and twisted, simultaneously kicking him in the back of the head. Grabbing the dazed Hylian by the forearm, I wrenched him to the side, dislodging him from my chest and throwing him to the ground. Before he could recover, I was over him, shackling his wrists above his head and trapping his legs between my knees.

"Foolish boy!" I snarled furiously, slamming him back into the ground when he tried to sit up. "Had I control of my own body, do you not think I would have defied Ganondorf? You asked me once if I was a slave. Well, the answer is _yes_, I am."

Abruptly, Link stopped struggling, lying still beneath me. An unreadable emotion flickered through his celestial eyes. Now that I had his wary attention, I explained, panting harshly, "As you know, the Sheikah loyally serve the Royal Family. Most tribe members are free to come and go as they please, but not the Warriors like Impa and I. Unlike the other Sheikah, we are born with a number of special attributes that differentiate from the rest of the tribe… and with them there is a whole separate set of rules and restrictions set upon us from birth. The Warrior Code relevant to this conversation is our most closely guarded secret, the secret of the blood bond.

"When a Sheikah Warrior becomes the Guardian of a Royal Family member, he or she is required to pledge their body, heart, soul and blood to their new master. I will not delve into the ancient binding ritual we must endure, for the most important aspect is the end result: an unbreakable bond of Sheikah shadow and blood magic that ties the servant to his master. Only death can sever this bond. Any direct command by the Sheikah's master must be obeyed, whether the Warrior wishes to oblige or not." Meeting Link's eyes, I said slowly, clearly, "If we try to defy our masters' orders, the magic of the blood bond will seize control and force us to obey, even against our will."

Horror widened Link's eyes. His breathing was so shallow he seemed to be waiting with baited breath to hear my next words. Finally, I had his full, cooperative attention. Although it was hidden to him, I smiled bitterly behind my cowl. "As you can imagine, normal slaves have more free will than us bound Sheikah warriors."

"Are you… are you bound to Zelda?" Link asked suddenly, speaking the first civil words to me since I entered the graveyard, since the blood bond forced me to fight him even.

"I am," I confirmed grimly. "And, up until the night of his fall, to Ganondorf as well."

When Link did not attack me for admitting a connection to the Gerudo king, I deemed him calm enough to release. Freeing his hands, I stood and Link sat up, watching me intently. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my back to him, speaking to the Shadow Temple. "With the princess, I seldom felt the restriction of my blood bond, particularly during the early years. She rarely ever issued a command when we were children. But when Ganondorf launched his bloody coup d'état on Hyrule Castle and seized the Triforce, everything changed. Two years after you vanished, Impa insisted we could no longer afford to wait for you. Ganondorf had very nearly discovered our whereabouts on multiple occasions, and she believed immediate action was necessary. Impa decided we needed a man on the inside, to lead Ganondorf astray and uncover his secrets. She volunteered me... and only me. Princess Zelda was opposed to the idea, but in time, she agreed and issued me her first true command: infiltrate Ganondorf's castle."

Sighing, I bowed my head, closing my eyes. "We could have never predicted what happened next. At first, Ganondorf was wary of me, for I carry the Crest of the Royal Family on my flesh. My story was that I once served the Royal Family, but a betrayal turned me against them and I longed for revenge. He was skeptical and insisted that if I truly wished to serve him, I must forge a blood bond to him. What shocked me even more than his knowledge of our most closely kept secret and the capability to serve more than one master was learning a blood bond could be forged with a non-Hylian race. Before, we believed the feat to be impossible. But I had no choice. Backing down would have cost me my life, and more importantly, Princess Zelda's freedom. So I reluctantly agreed."

Turning around the face Link once again, I met his wide eyes as I narrated, "Being bonded to both Princess Zelda and Ganondorf caused a great deal of strife and finagling to keep my true loyalties secret. I became a master of finding loopholes in Ganondorf's commands or interpreting them in my own way to fool the blood bond. Until the night of his downfall, my bond with him never created any severe consequences."

At these words, Link visibly stiffened, and sat up a little straighter. His eyes frosted over slightly. However, they were no longer the twin chunks of ice they had been when I first arrived. His distrust and anger at me was beginning to melt away. The knowledge heartened me.

Lifting my eyes to the full moon, I silently prayed for strength: from the moon, from the Goddesses, from my Sheikah ancestors… any supernatural entity who would listen, really. For I knew if I was to regain Link's trust and friendship, I would need to be truthful and reveal all the atrocious events of that bleak night. Only the whole truth would convince the Hylian of my sincerity, my sacrifices and my innocence. Arms tightening over my chest, my hands balled into fists against my ribs. I had never planned to reveal to Link what I had endured, but coupled with the blood bond's possession, the knowledge of my sacrifice would offer a much stronger, convincing defense.

"That night, I awaited the princess's Light Arrow to signal the time when I was to meet you at the entrance and guide you through the Tower. But when Ganondorf kidnapped her, I hurried to his quarters to help in any way I could. Initially, I did not know what to do. Ganondorf still did not know of my true allegiance, and Princess Zelda revealed nothing of my loyalty to her, letting the King of Evil delude himself into thinking he held all the cards. So I clung to the edge, awaiting an order, a word, a glance, _anything_. Then, to my horror, Ganondorf advanced on the princess, intending to force himself upon her."

"What?" Link demanded in outraged alarm, springing to his feet, tensed for battle. "Ganondorf…! He… he… _raped_ Zelda?"

"No," I cut in smoothly, stemming the Hylian's appalled stammers. "No, Princess Zelda's honor remains intact. I swiftly removed that threat from her." Breathing deeply to steady myself, I confessed, "I was the one who weathered Ganondorf's lusty advances in the princess's stead."

The infuriated red flush permeating Link's handsome face abruptly drained, leaving his sun-kissed skin unhealthily sallow. All the ice melted from his crystal blue eyes, leaving only horror and dumbfounded shock in its wake.

"You... that cannot be..." the warrior whispered, shaking his head slowly, aghast. "He didn't... you could not have... could not have let him..."

"But I did," I confirmed resolutely, meeting his horrified gaze unwaveringly. "It was either me or Princess Zelda. The choice was a simple one. I am speaking the truth, Hero. Only a fool would bluff twice, especially when there is a person who could easily call them. As much as it pains me to admit, the princess can also confirm the authenticity of this claim. She witnessed the entire... punishment."

Suddenly, Link's alarm cleared away to stormy anger, his expression turning deadly. For a moment, I feared he did not believe me and the anger was a return of his distrust. But then, he shouted furiously, "That filthy, evil bastard! How could he do that to you? It is deplorable! Does his wickedness know no bounds? Farore's Wind, if only I had known! Sheik, I-"

Holding a hand up, I cut off Link's words, and he seemed to relax a little, watching me expectantly. Behind the cowl, I smiled softly, my heart soaring at his indignant, concerned reaction.

"Please, do not pity me, Hero," I murmured quietly, lowering my eyes from the moon to meet his eyes. Unconsciously, I reached out to touch his shoulder, but withdrew, unsure if I was allowed to touch him again. "I appreciated the sympathy, but there is no need for it. It is my duty to protect you and the princess, and I would gladly sacrifice myself for you two, no matter the situation. Besides, in the five years I served under him, I have grown accustomed to Ganondorf's preference for sexual punishment. It was nothing I had not already experienced."

By the time I finished, the Hylian's face was ashen. Again, he feebly tried to speak, "Sheik…"

Swiftly, I interrupted, completing my tale, "Afterwards, Ganondorf ordered me to kill you, and although I fought against his command with all my might, the blood bond was stronger. Weakened as I was, I could not resist." Gazing directly into Link's eyes, I explained, "I found only one loophole in Ganondorf's command: he never ordered me to stay alive long enough to kill you. That is why, when we finally met each other on the steps, I spoke such harsh words to you, begged you to run or to end my life. I was trying to chase you away from me, or else infuriate you so you would abandon or kill me. Anything to stop the blood bond from murdering you. But you would not leave, and when Ganondorf called out to me again, the blood bond seized control of my body. It possessed me, and I was helpless to stop myself from attacking. Then, at the last possible second, before the final blow could fall, I regained control. Then, I did what no Sheikah had ever done before… I defied a direct command, and shattered my blood bond with Ganondorf. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in Kakariko, bandaged and bruised, hearing Princess Zelda allude to how you hated me."

Turning to face him, I took a hesitant step toward Link, my gaze never once straying from his blue eyes. "Please forgive me, Hero. Yes, I betrayed you, but it was not _me. _Every second of our fight, my heart and soul screamed and bled, torn to shreds for what I was forced to do. Every second of our battle, I fought against the blood bond, trying to stop myself. Now I see I should have warned you of my bondage prior to that night. Had I not been so secretive about it, none of this would have happened and-"

Suddenly, Link grabbed me and bodily yanked me to him, his arms closing around me in a bone-crushing hug. Blinking in surprise, I could only stare in alarm at the long, pierced ear by my nose, numbly feeling his strong arms encircling me. Then my mind caught up with the situation, and my body immediately relaxed, my heart tripping over itself. I could have cried with joy. I had succeeded; Link forgave me. The aching weight in my heart lifted, filling me with such an intense lightness I felt as if I could sprout wings and fly. Smiling, I locked my arms around Link's back, and I dropped my forehead to his broad shoulder, holding to him to me like I would never let go. Drinking in the moment, I savored every sensation of his embrace, the power of his arms, the heat of his body, the smell of his skin.

"I cannot tell you how sorry I am, Sheik," Link whispered, voice thick with chagrin. His arms tightened marginally around me. "You were right. I let pain and feelings of betrayal cloud my logic. I should never have doubted you. I am so sorry. Please forgive me."

Reluctantly, I withdrew from the Hylian to lay a tender hand on his shoulder. "You already have my forgiveness, my friend," I told him kindly. "There is no need to apologize."

"No. There is," Link insisted urgently, stepping closer to me, our bodies brushing. My heart fluttered, beating at a frenzied pace. "What I said about you and your tribe… how you were nothing but Ganondorf's shadow… I apologize. I did not mean any of it. I was merely lashing out, acting like a child by trying to hurt you to ease the ache in my foolish heart."

Unconsciously, my back stiffened, and a sigh pushed past my lips. "It is quite alright, Hero," I assured him blandly, wearily. "Insincere or not, your comment is, in reality, startlingly accurate. The Sheikah are beings of darkness, and as such, we are doomed to forever walk behind creatures of light, our casters, the Hylians. As a member of that Tribe, I, too, am a shadow, and therefore do not possess a will of my own. My body, blood and soul belong to my masters. Though I am not evil, I _am _nothing more than a shadow."

Darting forward, Link seized me by the shoulders tightly by the shoulders. I winced slightly as his fingers dug into my bruises, but the alarmed, stricken expression on the hero's face banished the pain from my mind.

"How can you believe that?" he demanded, voice anguished. "You are a person, Sheik, same as me! To say you have no will of your own, no body, no purpose but to serve the Hylians... it's just... it is just so _sad_..."

I smiled forlornly behind the cowl, gently prying Link's hands from me. "You are kind, Hero," I murmured fondly, gazing into cerulean eyes swimming with childlike sadness. "Kind, but naïve. A slave is nothing more than property, an object. And make no mistake, I _am _a slave. Perhaps not to Zelda, but I was to Ganondorf and I am to the Hylians. Even the poorest civilians of your race hold a higher social status than I. You would be hard-pressed to find a Sheikah who does not think of himself as a mere shadow. We all suffer from an identity crisis of sorts, particularly us Warriors. We are born with our own personalities, yes, but then we must obey the rigid codes of our Tribe, conform to the expectations of the Royal Family, abide by Hylian customs while remaining true to our culture, and endure the stereotypes and the distrust of the other races. And for us bound Warriors, the blood bond reduces us to mindless, obedient slaves. With all the different personas thrust upon us, it is a rare find indeed to meet a Sheikah who has firmly-grounded sense of self."

"But why?" Link questioned, bewildered and intensely distressed. "Why must the Sheikah suffer this way? Why are you not free to do as you please and are bound to serve the Hylians?"

"Because that is the way Farore created us," I responded simply, lifting my gaze to the darkened heavens. "You have heard the townsfolk refer to us as the 'Shadows of the Hylians.' Well, this is not merely a phrase; it is in the history of our creation. The legend goes, back when the world was young, after Din had cultivated the land of Hyrule and Nayru had implemented the natural law, Farore filled the world with living creatures. After plants and animals, she created Hyrule's great races from the elements – the Zora from ice and Water; the Gorons from stone and Fire; the Gerudo from sand and Spirit; Kokiri from trees and Earth; the Hylians from Light and her own flesh.

"However, she could not master Shadow. Nothing concrete would form from shadows and night. When she tried to bind Shadow to a piece of herself as she had done with Light to create the Hylians, the golden brilliance of her body burned away the darkness. She then attempted to combine the elements together, hoping it would give Shadows a form. Instead of a Shadow race, her experiment yielded the creation of humans, a weak race containing a fraction of each element. Then, Farore suddenly noticed how the sun cast shadows upon the ground, and realized that Light and Shadow were two parts of a whole, that one would not exist without the other. Her body might have been too radiant for Shadow, but her race of Light was a far dimmer version of herself. So, she dove in again, this time combining Shadow with the blood, flesh and bone of a Hylian man and woman. And thus, the first Sheikah man and woman were created: the antithesis of Hylians, their shadows in every way, a washed-out version of Farore's chosen race. In an unforeseen consequence, rather than existing as an independent race like the others, the Sheikah clung to the Hylians – their substance, their parents, their masters – as servants and protectors, following them as our shadows follow our every move."

Returning my stare to earth and to Link, I finished, "That is why we are bound to serve you. Without the Hylians, we would have never been born. Without substance, we cannot exist. You are our essence, our creators, and as such, we obey you as a child obeys his parents, as we all obey the wishes of the Goddesses. We are all born with the sole purpose to serve the Hylians. But while other Sheikah are free to pursue their passions, we Warriors have no choice but to become soldiers. We are not allowed to have dreams of another life, and we are all conditioned to behave the same. Throw in the blood bond and what little of our own identity we still retain is eradicated."

Gripping Link tightly by the arms, I peered intently into his celestial eyes, immersing myself in their aquamarine depths, as if I had flung myself from a mountain peak and was surrounded by nothing but blue sky as I fell to earth.

"That is why I was so desperate not to lose your friendship, to lose _you_. Other than Princess Zelda, you are the only other person who does not look at me like an object. To you, I am not the Guardian of Princess Zelda, the favorite spy of Ganondorf, or the Guide of the Hero of Time. To you, I am Sheik. You have always seen me as a person, even though I cannot see it myself..." I released the warrior, turning away from him and murmuring pensively to myself, "With so many different, contradicting personas I… I do not even know who I am… which identity is the real me…."

Though I could not see him, I could feel Link's eyes on me, gentle and meditative. A warm, calloused hand touched my arm, and I peered over my shoulder at him. His blue eyes were bright and eager. "Perhaps we can find out together."

Confused, I frowned behind my cowl, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The many roles you have played over the years have confused you, and you lost yourself. You cannot see beyond your nineteen-year-old interpretations, opinions and conceptions of your past, and therefore, cannot see your true self. But I – an outsider with no prior knowledge of your past, unburdened by the troubles and concerns that cloud your vision – can help you cut through the fog hiding your identity. Share your past with me, Sheik, so I may create my own opinions and pick up on details you have overlooked so you might rediscover yourself, and see you are not just a shadow." When I raised a skeptical eyebrow, Link urged. "Trust me."

Sighing, I lowered myself to ground, crossing my legs and balancing my elbows on my knees. "Very well," I surrendered, "Make yourself comfortable, Hero, for my past is no short tale."

* * *

**Glossary/Translations**

_foh'dwar _= an affectionate term for an elder brother, like the Japanese onii-chan.

_htram'dwar_ = little brother

_dafiddma_ = orphan

_chab'uhcac_ = an offensive name, literally means "little shit."

_bam'dirac_ = a derogatory name for homosexuals, literally means "boy-lover."

_Dlynos de Irc'deaw _= "The Night of Bloody Tears."

_wrat'uhcac_ = a curse similar to bullshit

* * *

This chapter was originally much shorter than it is now. The first version of it focused merely on Sheik waking up after the night of Ganondorf's fall. It ended when Sheik hopped out the window, bound for the graveyard to speak with Link. However, I thought I'd be nice and give you guys a little Link and Sheik action so the chapter wouldn't be quite so boring. =)

I case you all haven't noticed yet, I have a bit of a love affair with the conflict of shadow verus light. It has always fascinated me, and I am thoroughly enjoying exploring it via Link and Sheik's relationship, since it falls perfectly into this.

I got the idea of the Great Betrayal from the Ocarina of Time manga. What exactly it is that caused Zelda's grandfather to kill off the Sheikah... well, I won't reveal that secret in this story. I am planning on writing another Sheik and Link story, a sequel of sorts, only in the Twilight Princess world, as that betrayal (in my world/interpretation of the Zelda world) directly correlates with the plot of the TP game and my fanfiction. However, as I plan on that being an even longer fic than this, have a Mortal Instruments oneshot in the works, have the real world to deal with, and am a notoriously slow writer, it all depends on whether or not I have time to write it. Ideally, I'd like to, but realistically, I don't know if I can, since I also have original works that need my attention (especially since I'm hoping to publish them so I can make a living =P).

The end of this chapter was particularly difficult to write. I'm still not sure I properly explained why my version of the Sheikah are bound to serve the Hylians, but that's the best I can do. As for the story of their creation, I totally pulled that out of my ass. There was NO Wikipedia referencing with that one. That was all out my head and my mythology-obsessed brain.

Also, now that I've reached this point, I'd like to take my time to explain my vision of the Sheikah. Since, in my world, they were created from the Hylians, I didn't want to make their appearances the 'negative' so to speak of the Hylians, even though their elements opposite. As in, I didn't want to give them black hair and such, because that's too clichéd for Shadow creatures. Instead, I wanted them to literally be a shadows of the Hylians, a washed-out, almost invisible version. That's why I give them white or silver hair, since those colors are the "washed-out" version of the vibrant blond and black hair of the Hylians.

One more chapter after this. And then you all get to read the yummy lemon scene between Link and Sheik, the sole reason this fic is rated M. I will admit I'm a bit nervous about posting my first yaoi lemon, and I sincerely hope I do not disappoint you, my lovely, cherished readers. As always, if you enjoyed the chapter, leave a review to let me know. Your comments always bring warmth to my heart =)


	5. Unmasking

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. If I did, Sheik would be his own person rather than Zelda in disguise, he'd be in more of the games, and the Sheikah would be more prominent characters. The only things I own are the characters Astar, Inianna and Io, and certain, made-up words of the Sheikah language.

**Warnings**: For this chapter, there is **graphic male-on-male sex. It is rated M for a reason, so if you are offended by this or are underage, please go elsewhere. **For the story overall, Sheik is a male and separate from Zelda, there are spoilers for the manga and game, and I played around with the Sheikah culture and Sheik's appearance.

**A/N: **I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for the long wait you guys. Reality didn't just catch up with me; it slammed into me with the force of a freight train. Between school, work, family drama, love life drama, and an evil writer's block (obviously conquered now), I had absolutely _no _time or sanity for _Bound by Blood_. But at long last, I managed to work around real life and finish editing the final chapter. So here you go! The long awaited chapter is finally here. I really, truly, sincerely hope it was worth the wait for all of you. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Unmasking

Sighing, I lowered myself to ground, crossing my legs and balancing my elbows on my knees. "Very well," I surrendered, "Make yourself comfortable, Hero, for my past is no short tale."

"Sheik, enough with the formalities already," Link groused, exasperated, plopping down unceremoniously beside me as he stripped off his gauntlets. "The name is Link. A great deal of time has passed from when we met officially in the Temple of Time and there was a need for you to stand on ceremony. You are no longer my guide, but my friend, and I would like it if you would call me by my name, not my title."

For a moment, I could only blink in surprise. By removing the need for titles and honorifics, Link had inadvertently equalized our friendship. But more importantly, his granting me permission to address him by his name suggested a closer, more intimate relationship. Though I tried to keep myself from reading too much into it and give myself false hope, I could not stop Zelda's words of encouragement from echoing in my head, nor prevent the smile curving my lips. "As you wish, H-" I caught myself with a sheepish grin, "Link."

The hero momentarily closed his eyes, as if the sound of his name leaving my tongue brought him blissful delight. When he reopened them, his blue eyes were as bright and vibrant as the midsummer sky, smiling as brilliantly as the sun at high noon.

"Thank you. That's much better," Link breathed with a contented sigh. Settling back against the rock wall of the Shadow Temple, he leaned into my shoulder and laid his warm hand on top of mine, locking our fingers together like gears in a machine. The Hylian's touch sent my heart palpitating in my chest, and I could not help but think wryly of how we found ourselves in the same position we had adopted inside the Shadow Temple, locked in that rusted old cell for meager protection.

"So," said Link, interrupting my reminiscing. I glanced over at him to be greeted with a sunny smile. "Where does your tale start?"

"At the beginning," I responded, pleased my voice sounded steadier than I felt. "At the very beginning." Breathing in deeply, evenly, I willed my heart to slow and wrenched my mind away from Link.

Then I began my narrative:

"Our stories begin very much the same, you and I. Both our fathers served the Royal Family; yours as a Knight of Hyrule, mine as a Warrior and Guardian to the King of Hyrule, Princess Zelda's grandfather. Your mother was a basket weaver, and mine was a painter; neither of them were fighters. We were even born the same year, the year the Hyrulean Civil War ended when Princess Zelda's father, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, united the six races under one banner. And like you, my father was killed during the civil war. But where your father died honorably on the battlefield as a warrior should, mine perished inside the walls of Hyrule Castle along with half the Sheikah population." Upon the confused expression on Link's face, I clarified, "He was murdered by Princess Zelda's grandfather, his blood bound master, during _Dlynos de Irc'deaw_ – the Great Betrayal – when the Royal Family turned against and slaughtered the Sheikah Tribe."

Beside me, Link stiffened, finally understanding, and his head whipped around so he could stare at me in horrified alarm. I did not meet his eyes. Although I could sense the question he was burning to ask, the blonde held his tongue. He knew I could not reveal to him the details of or the reasons for that bloody night, so he did not attempt to pry the truth from me. Instead, he merely squeezed my hand, wordlessly encouraging me to continue.

Before I could begin brooding over this tragedy as I often did, I said, "Though I cannot tell you what happened during the _Dlynos de Irc'deaw_, I can say that, in addition to ending the Hyrulean Civil War, Princess Zelda's father also stopped the genocide of my people when he assumed the throne. After apologizing to the remaining vestiges of my race for his father's crimes, the King granted them permission to leave the Royal Family's service if they so desired. It was an act of kindness and precaution. He was not so cold-hearted that he would force the Sheikah into service after such a grievous betrayal, nor did he want to shackle any tribe members who might harbor any dangerous, ill-feelings toward the Royal Family. About three quarters of the remaining Sheikah took him up on his offer, retreating to a country far beyond the Death Mountain Range. My mother, tormented by the sorrow and grief of my father's death, was among them. She abandoned her position as the Royal Family's painter and fled Hyrule with my older sister and me for that distant, far-off country."

Instantly, Link perked up beside me, very much like an eager, golden-haired puppy. I could almost envision him with pricked, pointed ears and a wagging, bushy tail. "You have a sister?" the blonde inquired curiously, excitedly.

His enthusiasm was so palpable, so electric, I almost wanted to lie to him so as not to douse that radiant energy. Almost. But I was tired of hiding the truth from Link. Closing my eyes, I corrected sadly, "_Had_. I _had _a sister, Link…."

As I predicted, I felt Link's eagerness and excitement deflate like a dying Octorok. Before he could offer up an apology, I hurried to continue. "For five years, my mother raised my sister and me in this small, unknown country, trying to help rebuild our tattered race. I remember very little of my childhood outside of Hyrule. When I close my eyes and concentrate, I can catch snippets of those days: a village nested within a mountainous region, blanketed in snow; my mother sitting by my bedside, her white-gold hair gleaming in the firelight as she told me stories about my father and her life in the castle, how she used to paint the portraits of the Royal Family; my sister, Io, parading proudly around our cottage when she was old enough to begin her Warrior's training, leaping into the air and swinging from the rafters to demonstrate her skill.

"Then, the year of my fifth summer, my life radically changed. My mother was stricken with a foreign, incurable disease. The village healers struggled to discover what her ailment was and how to treat it, but to no avail. In less than a month since she had contracted the illness, she passed away, and Io and I became orphans. After my mother's death, none of the villagers wanted to take us in. They had all seen or heard of the ghastly way in which she died, and as such, feared we, too, might contract the disease and spread it to them. And with our tribe as it was – scattered, torn and flirting with the thin line separating survival from extinction – the other Sheikah did not want more members to die. So they shunned us.

"Parentless, homeless and forsaken by our tribe, Io, though only five years older than I, took charge of the tattered remains of our family, vowing to protect me. As is our custom, my sister and I discarded our birth names and adopted the names all underaged, orphaned girls and boys take: Shekinah and Sheik. Then, two moons after we buried our mother, we abandoned our village to embark on a journey to Hyrule."

"I am sorry to interrupt," Link interjected suddenly, "but I am a little confused. Why are all those orphaned in childhood required to drop their birth names?"

"You must have noticed how the name Sheik is a shortened version of the word Sheikah, and how Shekinah is a similar variation," I began slowly, wondering how best to explain this complicated concept to him. When he nodded, I continued, "There is a reason for the likeness. They signify that we are now children of the Sheikah tribe itself, and as such, are below all members of the tribe with the exception of those younger than us, much like any other family system. All elder tribe members are now our parents, and as such, we must obey them as we would have our biological mother and father. More than anything, my name is a societal status, and thus limits the amount of power I can hold within the tribe. Generally, orphans are seen to be of a lower social standing because we lack the full sixteen years of parental guidance and upbringing my people believe is needed to produce a well-rounded adult. The exception to the rule is those orphaned after the age of sixteen, when we are legally seen as adults. They may keep their birth names and high social standing, as their parents lead them through the crucial beginning stages of their lives."

Mulling over my words, Link frowned, no doubt trying to wrap his gentle, benign Hylian mind around the strict, harsh world of the Sheikah. Before I could ask him whether he understood or not, he inquired, "If Sheik is the name all orphaned boys take, then what is your birth name?" He paused for a moment, then added sourly, knowingly, "Or are you not permitted to speak it?"

Nodding, I confirmed solemnly, "By law, I cannot speak my birth name, nor be known by anything but Sheik. Even so, I am afraid I would still be unable to tell you my real name, for I cannot remember it. Because Io was a Warrior at age ten, she was considered legally bound by all Sheikah laws and customs, and as such, was careful to address me only as Sheik. Being as young as I was, my name has become lost within my memories. The only reason I can recall my sister's name is because I was not old enough to understand the concept of name abandonment, and so, addressed her as Io." Pausing a moment, I thought to myself for a moment before adding, "Technically, I have broken the law twice now: first by calling myself Shekinah the day Zelda and I met you, and now by speaking my sister's birth name out loud."

I smiled bitterly then at Link, and while he could not see the expression on my mouth, I knew he would read it in my eyes. "Yet another reason why I have no identity of my own. There are countless other Sheiks milling about the Shadow Folk, and my people do not distinguish one Sheik from the next."

For a moment, neither of us spoke, lost in our own thoughts. Then the blonde turned to me, and with an encouraging squeeze of our laced fingers, asked, "What happened after you and your sister left your village?"

Diverting my gaze from those celestial eyes to gaze at the moon, I answered, "We walked. For two years we trekked through the mountains and wilderness, living off of nuts, berries and small game, huddling together to keep warm during the winter season, and marching toward Hyrule with only a tattered, aged map as our guide. The journey was fraught with perils. The elements were harsh and unforgiving; more than once, we nearly froze in the winter, drowned in a tempest flood or died of thirst during a drought. We dodged the slavers who roam the range beyond Hyrule's borders, ready to snatch up travelers to sell in the slave market, and fled from the wild animals and monstrous beasts inhabiting the woodland and craggy mountainsides.

"Being older and more experienced, Io fared far better than I. Compared to her, I was weak and frail. But she taught me well, and showed me how to survive off the land, how to fight, and how to use rudimentary shadow magic. Under normal circumstances, it would have been forbidden for Io to teach one as young as I the Sheikah way, since Warriors' are not trained 'til the age of ten. However, as our survival depended on our skills, Io decided our lives were more important than the Sheikah codes. At the time, I loathed every minute of my training, but now, when I look back on those years, I am grateful for her instruction. Without her tutoring, I would have died that night twelve years ago...

"I had just turned seven when it happened. In the dead of the night, Io woke me, ordering me to hide myself in the forest. Slavers had spotted our campfire and were riding toward us. In spite of my pleading, my sister refused to hide with me. She insisted an empty campsite would only arouse their suspicion, and would encourage them to search the woods for us. If she stayed by the fire, then at least one of us could escape. When I continued to protest, she used shadow magic to bind, silence and conceal me, and then retreated back to the campfire.

"I could only watch in horror as the slavers finally arrived, dismounting from their horses to examine my sister as if she were a precious artifact. Before I knew it, they had chained her hands and feet together, saddled her on the back of a horse, and rode off into the night with her. Only when the distance between us became too great for her to maintain the spell I was released from the Io's imprisoning magic. The moment I was freed, I ran in the direction they had taken her, crying and screaming for her to come back."

A tremor crawled down my spine at the bitter memory. My heart throbbed with the remembered anguish when I realized I was all alone, when my only remaining family member had been ripped from me. Unconsciously, my fingers constricted around Link's, and I felt his hand move, as if he was trying to wriggle it from my grasp. Worried I was hurting him, I loosened my grip, and he lifted his hand from mine. But then, before I could mourn the loss of his touch, my heart leapt wildly when Link wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders. Drawing me close to him, he touched his forehead to my temple and reached over with his other arm to cover my hand with his. Eyelashes softly brushing the skin of my face like the wings of a butterfly, he whispered gently, "I'm so sorry, Sheik…."

Fingers trembling ever so slightly, I turned my hand over under Link's so our palms were pressed together. Threading my fingers with the Hylian's with an appreciative squeeze, I said past an abruptly dry throat, "There is no need to apologize. You were not the one who kidnapped her." Wetting my lips nervously, I met his cerulean blue eyes and allowed my smile to shine through my eyes. "But thank you."

Staring down at our interlaced fingers, I acutely aware of Link's arm around me as I continued, "For three days, I did not eat, drink, sleep or move from our campsite for fear I would miss my sister if she managed to escape and came in search of me. By the fourth day, hunger, thirst and exhaustion drove me to act on my body's needs. Only after I was fed, watered and rested did I regain my senses and faced the bitter truth: Io would not return. I realized then she would not have wanted me to sit there, crying for her. She would have wanted me to carry on, to persevere toward Hyrule, the beautiful Golden Land she always spoke so highly of. She would have wanted me to forge a new life for myself in Hyrule with the Sheikah who served the Royal Family, tribe members who would care for and train me.

"And so, swallowing my tears and terror, I gathered only what I needed in our saddlebag and set off on my own, leaving all else behind. It pained me to abandon what few belongings Io had brought with her, but I could not carry them if I wanted to survive. However," Tugging on the side of my cowl, I revealed one narrowly tapered ear to Link and touched the small, crimson hoop earring dangling from my earlobe, "I did take these... As a rite of passage, all Warriors have their ears pierced when they turn sixteen. Normally, men wear studs and women wear hoops. However, when it was my turn to receive the initiation, I insisted on two piercings: one to symbolize my entry into adulthood," I moved my finger to the ruby stud behind the first piercing, "and one to commemorate my sister and her sacrifice. These earrings were Io's most prized possessions; they were a gift from our father and she was saving them for when she turned sixteen. They are all I have left of her, and I wear them to respect her memory, just as I chose to honor her by giving her name to my _ny'tiall_. To this day, I know not whether she is alive or dead."

Cautiously, Link touched the coral earring, balancing it on the tip of his finger. But then, his finger strayed, ghosting over the ruby stud to trace the delicate point of my ear. Another barely suppressed shudder ran through me, but this time, Link's touch was what caused it. Gently, he caressed the shell of my ear, and the rough, calloused pad of his fingertips sent warm, sinful tremors through me. Lips parted and eyes wide, his expression was a blend of childlike fascination and the reverence of an adult. As usual of all things that were new to Link, be it an unfamiliar face or the newest invention, my ears enraptured him. He was familiar with the Hylians' long, pointed ears and the humans' short, rounded ears, but not the small, delicately tapered ears of the Sheikah; a combination of the two.

Drawing my cowl back into place, wordlessly informing Link his time was up, I continued, "It was another year – a long, hard year – before I finally broke free of the wilderness and at last stumbled upon Hyrule, somewhere between Kakariko and Zora's Domain. Seeing Hyrule for the first time in all her glory – the rolling green plains of Hyrule Field; the sparkling, silver-blue waters of the Zora River; the lush, verdant fringe of the Kokiri Forest and the craggy, red rocks of Death Mountain in the distance; the golden sunset gilding the white brick walls of Castle Town, gleaming brilliantly before me like a beacon calling out to me, calling me home – I wept. I wept with joy, I wept in relief, and I wept simply from the sheer beauty of the land. Hyrule was as beautiful as Io had told me and more, more than I had ever dared to dream. I had made it, and at that moment in time, nothing else mattered. I had survived. I can remember falling asleep later that night with tears streaming down my cheeks and a smile on my lips, the image of Hyrule field bathed in twilight infiltrating my dreams.

"It took me an additional week to cross Hyrule Field by foot. By the time I was a day's walk from Castle Town, I was out of food. In the midst of wondering how I was going to eat, having no rupees and little understanding of currency, a group of Hylian boys that previously had been torturing frogs on the riverbanks by the Kakariko bridge suddenly stopped me as I passed. They surrounded me, ridiculing the paleness of my hair, the color of my eyes and my Sheikah garb. At first, I heeded no attention to their teasing and abuses. But when they took my sister's earrings, I reacted. As I jumped, snatching at the earrings the taller boy dangled tauntingly over my head, he and his friends laughed and sneered at me for coveting such a girly item. Desperate, I lunged at the boy. Though he was taller than me, I was stronger, and successfully tackled him to the ground, wrenching the earrings from his grasp. However, before I could recover, the other boys ganged up on me and shoved me into the river.

"It was in that moment I felt certain I would die, for of all the talents Io imparted on me, she never taught me how to swim, for she herself was uneducated. I thrashed wildly in the river, frantically trying to keep my head above the water, all the while clutching my sister's earrings in my fist, too afraid to let them go even to help myself. Just as I began sinking under the murky waters, choking and breathing in water, I felt a splash beside me and arms around my waist, dragging me toward the riverbanks. Only once my back was pressed firmly against the muddy banks did I open my eyes, sucking in gulps of air and coughing up water. After I checked to assure I still had my sister's earrings, I turned to my savior. My rescuer wore boy's clothing, but his blond hair was too long, blue eyes to gentle and face too soft, too round, too feminine to be a boy, even for a child of six summers."

"Zelda," Link guessed, a smile in his voice.

Glancing at him with a matching smile of my own, I nodded and confirmed, "Princess Zelda. At the time, I knew not who she was, only that she was a girl and did not show much shock at my unusual appearance. She asked if I was hurt and helped me climb back up the steep, slippery sides of the river. Once we were back on solid ground, she scolded the boys as only royalty can, chasing them off with a broken tree branch. Afterwards, she guided me to a deserted grove by the river where I could wash my garments and lay them out to dry." Snorting lightly, I shook my head as I remembered, "Damn girl nearly stripped me from my clothes."

At this, Link stiffened, as if my comment upset him, but I shook it off as nothing and continued, "We spent the day together, and she showed me around Castle Town, pointing out areas of interest and eating lunch together. As starved as I was, I devoured the first real meal I had in three years, and Princess Zelda, laughing as she told me not to give myself a stomachache, kindly handed me the rest of her food. Eventually, night fell and after hearing I had no place to stay, the princess was reluctant to leave me. Somehow I managed to convince her I would be alright, and reluctantly, she left and I settled down into a back alley to sleep, consumed by thoughts of the strange but kind girl. The next morning, while hunting for scraps of food to eat, I began hatching a plan to sneak into the Castle and meet with the Sheikah supposedly living there. Little did I know, they would come to me."

Staring down at my nimble, bandaged fingers, I confessed, "I have only ever stolen once, and it nearly cost me my life. By high noon, my stomach was growling, demanding a meal as filling as the one I'd had the day before. My quest for food led me to the marketplace, and there, I spotted a nearby vendor selling loaves of bread. Desperate as I was for food, I reluctantly steeled myself to snitch a small loaf. Unfortunately, I wasn't swift enough, and I was caught. Luck was not my side in that moment, for the vendor was a particularly violent man with a grudge against the Sheikah. He recognized me for what I was and began beating me, for stealing his bread and for the death of his wife at my race's hands.

"It was then I heard a familiar voice calling out to the vendor and commanding him to stop. When he let me fall to the ground, gentle hands drew me up and even though she was now dressed in a royal garb, I recognized Princess Zelda as the same girl who pulled me from the moat the day before. I could scarcely believe she had been Hyrule's princess in disguise. Before I could stammer out my respect, she cut me off, insisting friends needn't be so formal. Then Impa approached, and I was amazed to see another Sheikah, the first in the year since my sister's capture. She asked me my name and background, and in my excitement, I told her everything, completely forgetting the story Io had crafted so the other Sheikah would not spurn us in fear of contracting Mother's fatal disease. Yet my tale did not disgust Impa. On the contrary, she was impressed I had survived for so long. Dismissing the vendor, she carried me back to the Castle with Princess Zelda bouncing along behind her, bombarding me with a hailstorm of silly questions I can no longer recall.

"Impa left the princess and me in the infirmary, where her Highness insisted on using her magic to heal my scrapes and bruises. Only later did I learn I was a guinea pig for her to practice on. When Impa returned, she informed me she had spoken with the King, asking his permission to allow me into his service. She said he had agreed, and with my and Princess Zelda's consent, he would like me to become her Guardian. Almost unanimously, she and I agreed, and right then and there, I made an informal vow to always protect her in gratitude for saving my life not once, but twice. Then, just when I thought my life was complete, Impa offered to adopt me as her son. It took all my restraint to keep my acceptance a tear-free one. Afterwards, she introduced me to her children, Astar and Inianna, who were Guardians of the princess's brothers, Ronan and Nathanial respectively."

Interest piqued, Link straightened a little beside me, eyes curious. But unlike before, he did not question me further. Perhaps he feared to know what fate befell these siblings, both Zelda's and my adopted family. I hoped I would not have to tell him.

"For the next four years, I trained under Impa's hand, working hard to become a Sheikah worthy of protecting a member of the Royal Family. And then, when I turned ten, I officially became Princess Zelda's Guardian. After that…" I shrugged, "there is little left to tell you. The princess and I had a multitude of troublesome, foolish adventures, and two years later, we met you for the first time as Adelz and Shekinah."

"I still cannot believe you disguised yourself as a girl," Link sniggered, ignoring the glare I shot him. "When we met again in the Temple of Time, I thought I had gone mad. I recognized that your hair, eyes and manner of speech were identical to Shekinah's, only you were really a man."

I sniffed. "I thought it was quite humorous. The expression on your face was gold. At the time I wished I had inherited my mother's talent for painting so I could capture that expression of pure shock on canvas forever."

"Hilarious," Link grunted, shoving me playfully before abruptly becoming serious. "Tell me... what happened to you after Ganondorf seized control... the night of the Great Cataclysm?"

My smile faded. Seems I would have to crush his innocent excitement after all. Sighing, I said, "After Impa fled with Princess Zelda, Astar led Inianna and me out of Castle Town along with the Sheikah living in the palace. Since... since the princess's brothers had been killed alongside the king and queen, they were free to leave and take refuge in Kakariko Village." As predicted, Link's face fell upon hearing of Ronan and Nathanial's deaths, but otherwise made no comment. "Nearly a month passed before Impa returned to the village, but when she did, she led all the Sheikah still loyal and willing to fight for the princess – the last remaining member of the Royal Family – to their hiding place. A few years later, I was volunteered to become a double agent, which resulted in jealousy-induced duel with Astar I never would have survived if Princess Zelda had not intervened and cured me of my wounds."

Alarmed, Link demanded, "Your own brother attacked you?"

"Foster brother," I corrected firmly. "And yes, he did. Astar and I have never really seen eye-to-eye, and we have only just reconciled our differences. I always found him to be too proud and bloodthirsty for his own good, whereas he was always envious of the attention Impa gave me and had a deep-rooted hatred for my… my…" I gathered a deep, uneasy breath, praying this addition would not backfire on me, "my lack of inclination towards the opposite sex. The Sheikah always look down upon my kind, and for Astar in particular, my sexuality only offered him another reason to hate me."

Beside me, I felt Link sit a little straighter, acutely aware of his crystalline blue eyes boring into the side of my skull. Heart in my throat, I refused to look at him and blundered on as casually as I could muster, "The rest, you could say, is history. I served under Ganondorf for five years, awaiting the moment you would return from the Sacred Realm so I could act as your guide. From there, you know the rest."

Silence followed the completion of my narration, and my heart beat so frantically, so loudly in my chest I feared Link's long ears would hear it. I was content to simply gaze out across the expanse of the graveyard, but Link would not allow me to avoid his gaze forever. Tanned fingers touched the fabric of my cowl, capturing my hidden chin was. Gently, he turned my head to him and my breath hitched in my throat upon seeing the tenderness in his sky blue eyes.

"I know who you are, Sheik…" Link affirmed confidently, releasing my covered face and tightening his arm around my shoulder. "You are the strongest man I have ever met. You grew up knowing your parents had died, knowing you were an orphan whereas I was raised in the dark, believing I was a Kokiri. You have had to struggle all your life, and that has made you strong. You are loyal to the ones you love. You are selfless, willing to sacrifice yourself to protect others. You are brave, never letting anything shake your resolve, remaining calm and steady even in the most desperate situation. Without the Triforce of Courage, I am not even sure I would have been able to stand as steadfast as you whilst inside Ganondorf's den. The courage you carry is a unique, natural brand. You are clever and swift enough to fool the King of Evil for five years, and wise beyond your years."

Shaking his head, he said, "Yours may be the name all orphan boys take, but I cannot imagine you as anyone but Sheik. You have seen more and done more as 'Sheik' than any other pompous Warrior in your tribe. When I think of 'Sheik,' all I see is your face, and the honor you brought to your supposedly meaningless, generic name; glory you will not admit you deserve, which also makes you modest. And finally, you are passionate. Passionate about Hyrule, about its people, about Zelda, your sister, your duty as a Guardian, and..." Here, his smile became incredibly soft and he gently brushed back a shock of my pale hair, letting his fingertips graze over the exposed portion of my face as he breathed, "Passionate about me..."

My reaction was instantaneous. I recoiled, staring at Link in horrified shock, for his words and tone implied a meaning deeper than mere friendship. However, the Hero of Time seemed unfazed by my violent response, and simply gazed at me with calm, almost hopeful eyes, reminding me forcefully of still spring pools.

"Am I wrong?" Link challenged quietly, his eyes daring me to contradict him.

As I drew on a breath to insist I had no knowledge of what he was insinuating, Zelda's words and my own conscience stopped me. The princess had urged me to trust in her wisdom, to believe in her when she said everything would turn out alright, and those words nagged at my brain. And in spite of all the secrecy, the vague, cryptic responses, and the fragmented truth, I had never spoken an outright lie to Link, before, and I'd be damned if I were to start now. Besides, my heart – despite its panicked beating – ached to finally let down my barriers to Link; _all_ of them, even the ones I had built around the truth of my feelings for him.

Exhaling the breath I had gathered in my lungs, I allowed my eyes to flick down to his hand, resting on his knee. Hesitantly, nervously, I reached for it and laced my shaking fingers with his. When I raised my eyes again, a dawning smile was curving the blonde's lips. Finally, voice little more than a whisper, I yielded, "No, Link. You are not wrong…"

A breathtaking smile stretched Link's mouth, and he squeezed my hand happily in response. "I never even entertained the notion that I might be mistaken," the Hylian breathed with only the faintest hint of smugness in his voice. "But do you see now? You are not just a shadow and you do not need 'substance' in order to exist. Ever since your sister's kidnapping, you have existed and survived with minimal aid, standing on your own two feet. You are your own person, Sheik; a man with a unique identity and personality, and..." Sliding his arm down to circle my waist, Link released my hand to cup my cheek with a rough palm. Gently, he touched his forehead to mine, staring intently into my wide eyes as he whispered, sounding as breathless as I felt, "A man I fell in love with without ever having to see his face."

Eyes snapping open wide, my heart lurched, slamming against my ribcage so hard it felt like a battering ram. All I could do was stare into Link's smiling face in complete shock, trying to hear past the ringing in my ears. My first reaction was to chide him for teasing me, but I held my tongue. My second instinct was to inspect the air around him, trying to detect any wisp of shadow magic that might be controlling him, casting this hallucination before me. But I sensed no magic, saw no deception. The affection and passion reflecting in the Hylian's eyes were genuine. Link was telling the truth; he loved me. Zelda had been right all along. Link loved me.

My heart swelled in my chest, so elated I felt I might burst. A shuddering breath pushed past my lips, and I squeezed my eyes shut, barely able to believe it. Twining my fingers in the golden hair at the nape of his neck, I held Link's forehead to mine, eyes closed and body trembling. I knew not what else to do. My mind was blank, yet spinning as chaotically as a whirlwind, and it seemed my skin was the only thing keeping me from flying everywhere at once. A soft laugh – more of a breath than a sound – tickled my cheek, as if Link read the unspoken emotion in my gesture. Yet he chose not to comment or question me on it, and simply drew me closer.

Through the muddled haze of my mind, I tried to think of how to respond, how to tell him I felt the same way. My first thought was not the long-winded speech I had futilely tried to concoct on my way to the graveyard, a bold kiss on the mouth, or even a simple '_I love you, too_.' No, what I said was, "Link... I can change that..."

Curious, Link drew back a ways, if only to better see into my eyes. A slight, worried frown marred his expression. "What do you mean?"

"You said you... you fell in love with me without knowing what I look like," I explained in a whisper. "I can change that..."

Understanding lit his celestial eyes, and Link withdrew from me completely, excited tension rolling off his body like static electricity. Laying a quivering hand against my cowl, I said, "I told you once before that, by law, I am forbidden to reveal my face to anyone but family. But, when courting and with parental consent, we are permitted to lower our cowls. Normally, it would have still been illegal for me to reveal my face to you since I have not gained Impa's approval. However, now that she is a Sage and no longer connected to worldly matters, that power has been transferred to Princess Zelda, who all but ordered me here tonight, so..."

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and curled my fingers around the lip of my cowl, very slowly lowering it. Hypersensitive, I felt the brush of the cowl's fabric, felt the night air on my face, cool against my overheated skin, and felt the breeze kiss newly exposed cheeks, then lips, and finally my chin. The cowl fell slack, bunched around my neck, completely baring my face. I hear Link's sharp intake of breath before I saw his reaction. And when I found the courage to open my eyes, I was greeted by awed, reverent expression.

"Goddesses..." he breathed, reaching out to touch my cheek, the pad of his thumb tracing the arch of my cheekbones. "Sheik... You're beautiful..."

Embarrassed, I averted my eyes and laid my hand over the back of Link's, holding his palm to my cheek. His thumb stroked a long path over my cheek, following the long, triangular path of my silvery _rhyfel'aira_.

"Sheik... these markings..." the hero murmured wonderingly, tilting my head to the side so he could watch the moonlight glint off the _rhyfel'airas_' platinum, reflective sheen. "What are they? Impa has similar ones under her eyes..."

"They are called _rhyfel'aira_; Warrior's Silver, in this tongue," I responded quietly, shivering faintly when Link continued his exploration of my face, tracing the bridge of my nose, my jaw line and chin, caressing my lips. "All those destined to become Sheikah Warriors are born with them. They separate us from the civilians, signifying that we were born stronger, faster and swifter than the others... and that we carry the magic necessary to forge a blood bond."

Here, Link paused, reluctantly extracting his hand from my face. I mourned the loss. Although the Hylian retrained his moonstruck wonder and inability to tear his eyes from my face, his countenance adopted a more serious expression.

"Sheik…" he began earnestly. "You never told me how you broke your blood bond with Ganondorf. You are the first Sheikah to ever do so, yet you spoke not of how you accomplished such an impressive feat. Why?"

Inhaling deeply, I admitted with a rueful grin, "Because I was afraid to tell you."

The hero's frown deepened. "Why?" he repeated.

_Sink or swim, _I thought to myself, picking up Link's left hand – the one bearing the golden mark of the Triforce – in mine, hoping it would help me gather my courage. "When I broke the blood bond, it was you I thought of... You and... and my feelings for you... They were what imbued me with the strength needed to overcome Ganondorf's control." Meeting Links widening blue eyes, I confessed softly, "As it turns out, my love for you is stronger than any Sheikah blood magic."

For what felt like another five years in Ganondorf's service, Link was silent, merely gaping at me. Just as I was about to break the unbearable silence, the blonde's face split into a blazing grin. Before I could recover from the blinding, sun-like smile, I suddenly found myself on my back, a heavy weight on my chest and a pair of firm, chapped lips against mine. Heat jolted through my stomach and my heart skipped so violently, for a moment, I feared it had stopped beating.

Of the two of us, I clearly had more experience; Link's kiss was nothing more than the press of his lips against mine, sweet, but teeming of childhood innocence and naiveté. For the first time, I was grateful for Ganondorf's torture, as it had bestowed upon me the experience needed to take the reins.

Pushing his cap from his head, I twined my fingers in his hair, tilting our heads to the side and prying his mouth open with my lips. Gently, I touched his tongue with my own, and Link gasped, audible and childlike, but did not retreat. While he retained a youthful ignorance in matters of physically expressing love, what he lacked in experience he recovered with his sheer enthusiasm and passion. As always, he learned fast, following my lead and matched my pace, our mouths moving in sync. Soon, his eager, discordant kiss, the grip of his hand on the base of my skull, the heat of his body, and the shy touch of his tongue filled the pit of my stomach with a curling heat and burning pleasure.

To my disappointment, Link was the first to break the kiss. Panting heavily, his breath hot my lips, he smiled down at me and kissed the tip of my nose. "How long?" he asked raggedly.

"How long have I loved you?" I guessed, my voice husky. "Since the day we met. Although..." I smirked as I quoted, "after our reunion in the Temple of Time, childish love blossomed into deep affection."

Grinning, Link swooped down to kiss me again, short but deep. When he withdrew, he chided, "You dolt. Why did you not tell me earlier? I would have returned your affections. Once I overcame my shock of learning you were a man, I realized my feelings for 'Sheik' were the same as my feelings for 'Shekinah'."

"Link, there are four very simple, very significant reasons why I refrained from confessing. Firstly, same-sex relationships are forbidden among the Sheikah, and I feared punishment or banishment. Secondly, my number one priority at the time was keeping you alive and out of Ganondorf's hands. Love would have only distracted you from your duty. Thirdly, I simply lacked the nerve to tell you, as I feared a rejection. And finally, I was under the impression you fancied women. Princess Zelda in particular."

"Zelda?" Link demanded incredulously. "You thought I was in love with _Zelda_?"

"I had no reason to think otherwise," I protested defensively. "After all, you were always obsessed with trying finding her, so I made the logical assumption that you loved her."

"You mean a stupid assumption," the blonde corrected with a snort, shaking his head as he cupped my face. "Sheik, you idiot, I love the princess like a sister. I was desperate to find her because I wanted to protect her, not because I wanted to be intimate with her. You are the only one I have ever desired in a romantic way."

Link's words warmed my heart, but even then, I could not help but tease him a little more. "Well, how was I to know that? You chide me for withholding my feelings, yet you are equally to blame for the prolonged wait. Were you under some curse or affliction of the tongue that prevented you from confessing? Are you not the keeper of the Triforce of Courage?"

Embarrassed, Link cleared his throat, a faint pink hue suffusing his cheeks. Jerking my face closer to his, he muttered gruffly, "For a member of the stoic Shadow Tribe, you sure talk a lot."

I grinned impishly. "What can I say? I learned from a master conversationalist."

The Hylian grunted, somewhat less-than-amused, "Yes, well, this 'master conversationalist' of whom you speak suggests a little less talking. What say you?"

Smiling, I twisted my fingers in his gold hair and softly claimed his lips. With a half-starved groan, Link fell on me like a ravenous Wolfo, his mouth slamming hungrily against mine. The passion in his kiss drove the breath from my lungs, sending my heart palpitating in my chest. His palm – calloused from hours of swordplay – turned my head to the side, deepening the kiss. Stomach swooping, I sighed shakily at the welcome invasion of Link's tongue and my fingers tightened in his blond hair, threatening to rip the silky strands out by the roots. However, he seemed not to mind, groaning heatedly at the rough treatment. The sound shot straight to my loins, and heated arousal coiled low in my stomach.

Our battle of lips and tongues set me ablaze with uncontrollable desire. Carried away by an all-consuming carnal lust and hunger, I nipped the fleshy swell of Link's bottom lip. More out of surprise at the unexpected bite than pain, Link jumped, his hips slamming against mine. Pleasure shot through me and my head fell back, an involuntary, needy moan clawing at my throat. Link, who had stilled above me in concern, shifted his hips again, consciously this time, seemingly encouraged by my positive reaction. A second blissful shockwave rocked me, heightened all the more by the sound of Link's innocently surprised moan.

Heat continued to curl in my stomach as Link ground his growing hardness against my own, my fingers fluttering weakly in his hair at the intense pleasure. As he rocked his hips against me, the Hylian kissed his way up my throat, his lips burning a trail into my skin. His mouth traced the line of my jaw, brushed across my parted, gasping lips, ghosted over my half-lidded eyes, grazed along my _rhyfel'aira_ before halting his progression just below my ear, placing a kiss there.

Shuddering with desire, I wrapped my legs around Link's waist, increasing the pressure and friction between our bodies. A trembling groan escaped the Hylian's throat as he thrust tentatively against me, a shiver passing though him as I kissed and sucked at his throat. Taking advantage of Link's distraction, I carefully snagged one blue earring with my teeth and gently tugged. Obliging to my silent command, Link tilted his head to the side, allowing me to drag my tongue over the ridge of his long ear. Violent tremors rocked Link as he moaned breathily, peppering my jaw and neck with heated, passionate kisses. Smiling at his reaction, I lightly bit the tip of his ear and Link hissed in pleasure, his hips jerking against me as he crushed his mouth to mine again.

Unfortunately, the kiss lasted only a few moments before Link broke away again and stilled his movements. "Sheik..." he panted, struggling to rein in his erratic breathing, his cerulean eyes hazy with lust. "What would happen to you if the Sheikah found out about this, about us...?"

I bit back a frustrated groan. Of all the times to discuss this topic, now was not the time I would have chosen. "I cannot say for sure," I confessed with a shrug, frowning a little. "The Elders can issue a number of different punishments, all of which are dependent on the gravity of my transgressions. However, I can assure you none are pleasant, regardless of their severity."

Link's worried expression deepened into an anxious scowl, his golden eyebrows knitting together. Fingers whispering over my cheek, he stared intently into my eyes and said, "Sheik, I have no desire to stop... _this_... our activities. Believe me, every inch of my body is screaming at me to continue. Yet, at the same time, I do not wish to endanger you by breaking the laws of your tribe. I will not see you harmed for breaking a taboo."

Wordlessly, I detached one arm from around his neck to loosen my head wrapping, letting the worn fabric fall slack around my pale hair. The sight widened Link's eyes, and they only grew larger when I guided his hand under the loose cloth, encouraging him to fully remove the bandages. My eyes fluttered as he stroked the small section of my white-blond hair, enjoying the simple pleasure before I shook it off to inform him matter-of-factly, "Link, were I truly concerned of being discovered, we would not be in our current position. I no longer care if this is forbidden. It would be impossible for me to return to simply being your friend knowing you return my affection. For now, we shall have to pray to the Three that our relationship remains secret. Even if the Sheikah find us out, I will gladly accept their punishment time and time again, for not even the Goddesses can keep me from you now."

The apprehensive expression abruptly melted into the brilliant smile I adored. "Guess that answers that. To hell with the Sheikah code!" Link proclaimed loudly, joyously and dove down to kiss me so passionately I almost forgot how to breathe, his fingers tearing the loose wraps from my head so he could submerse his hands in my hair. Smiling into the kiss, I held his face in my hands, dragging my bandaged fingers over his sculpted cheekbones.

Then, unexpectedly, Link broke away yet _again_, another frown marring his face. Before I could demand what was bothering him now, he extracted my hand his face and glared down at the bandages encasing my narrow fingers. Growling, he declared, "Those need to go. I want to feel your skin, not rough cloth."

My breath hitched in my throat as Link began systematically unwinding each strip of fabric, planting a light kiss on the pad of each finger he exposed. When all ten digits were bare at last, he returned them to his face with a smile, whispering, "Better," and dove down to kiss me.

A spark of electricity jolted me as my naked fingers slid over Link's warm, smooth skin for the first time, unobstructed by bandages. The texture of his skin intoxicated me as much as his kiss, and a carnal desire to touch more of him overcame me. My hands roamed his face, touching where our lips connected before trailing over his throat and down his clothed chest. Hesitating only a moment, I slid my hands under his tunic, my fingers gliding over his chiseled abs.

Involuntarily, Link's muscles contracted at my touch and he gasped into my mouth, his hips grinding particularly hard against me. For a moment, I sketched out the hard grooves and lines of his muscled stomach, reveling in the blonde's shivers, moans and frenzied grind of his hips. However, my touch was impeded by the brown leather belt cinching his tunic at the middle. Reluctantly, I tore myself away from Link's mouth and lightly touched the belt, peering questioningly up into his lust-clouded eyes. For a brief moment, Link's expression cleared, reading the unsaid question in my gaze. I saw the visible change in his eyes when they hazed over again as he nodded, granting me permission.

Fingers shaking ever-so-slightly, I fed the leather straps of his belt and baldric through their respective buckles, casting them to the ground and freeing Link's tunic. Unanimously, our breathing increased when I gripped the tunic's hemline with both hands, slowly draw the green fabric up over Link's torso and head. It hit the ground next to his belts. Despite the warm night, Link shivered. However, as I dragged the fingertips of both my hands down the warm expanse of his bare, corded back, watching his eyes slide shut as he trembled, I knew it was not a chill that touched him, but desire.

"Sheik…" Link whispered desperately, crushing his mouth and burning chest to me. My fingers dug into the fleshy, firm muscles of his back, the heat of his passion threatening to melt me as his tongue plundered my mouth, determined to taste me. Dragging one hand from his back to his chest, planting it over his heart, Link's sigh at my touch quickly turned into a gasp when my fingers grazed one sensitive nipple. Seizing the advantage of his pleasured distraction, I constricted my legs around his hips and pushed on his chest, flipping us over.

Link's aquamarine eyes flew open in surprise to find himself suddenly lying on the grass. Startled, he gazed up at me, straddling his hips with a lopsided grin. The warrior blinked twice in rapid succession before he seemed to grasp what happened. Smiling sheepishly, he drew me down to him, whispering in amusement, "Sneaky Sheikah..."

His lips on my throat garbled my reply in a choked gasp. Link kissed his way down my neck until the bunched fabric of my cowl prevented him from moving farther. Leaning back into the grass, the Hylian eyed my bindings, tabard and battlesuit with a critical, disapproving eye. Holding my hips in place, he sat up without warning, our chests pressing together. My head dropped to Link's shoulder and I bit back a needy groan; the shift had increased the pressure on our straining flesh. I could clearly feel Link against me through our clothes.

For a moment, Link too seemed dazed by the pleasure, panting heavily and, like me, visibly resisting the urge to thrust upward and grind our members together. But he shook himself out of it and with a look of determination, dove into the task at hand: figuring out how to undress me. Smirking in amusement, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing as I watched Link struggle to unwrap my arm bindings. With every passing second, his expression grew more and more frustrated until, at last, he exploded, "By the seven hells, how do you untie this thing?"

Snorting, I tugged the loose end my bindings free, handing him the shabby strip of cloth. "Here," I murmured, dragging my hands down his chest, purposely grazing his nipples and rocking lightly against him. The action elicited strangled gasps from the both of us, Link's voice carrying louder as I nipped at his throat, urging huskily, "Now hurry up. My patience grows thin."

Breathing heavily in my ear, Link's half-lidded eyes flickered down to where our bodies connected intimately. "I have a better idea," he murmured, his hand dropping to the ground. Before I knew it, he had yanked a dagger from its sheath and my arm wrappings fluttered to the grass, cleaved in two.

"You know," I drawled in a monotonous tone, plucking a shredded bandage from the grass, "once loosened, it is easy to slide the bindings off. You did not have to mutilate them."

"Were you not the one who instructed me to hurry?" Link countered smugly, slitting the sides of the chest wrapping holding my tabard in place. Casting aside the dagger, the hero yanked the tabard and attached cowl over my head, discarding it carelessly by his tunic. Scraps of severed cloth drifted to the earth like confetti.

"Besides," Link added, his voice abruptly serious as his fingers hurried to unlace the front of my battlesuit, a faint blush coloring his cheeks when his blue eyes locked with mine, "Ever since awakening in this older body and experiencing all of its adult urges, I have fantasized about seeing you – _all_ of you – stripped of your concealments." His blush deepened, but he did not falter, "Now that fantasy has become reality, and I cannot wait a moment longer."

Link's mouth was on me then, cutting off my reply with a fierce, hot kiss. With surprising dexterity, he peeled the clinging fabric of my battlesuit away from my shoulders, rolling it down and off my arms and over my stomach. Electricity jolted through me as the bare skin of our chests brushed. Instinctively, I flicked my thumbs over his nipples, bucking against him in response to his blissful moan and shivering at the intense pleasure. Temporarily lost in the ecstasy, the Hylian yanked me to him so our naked chests were pressed flush to each other, his hands clutching at my back as he attacked my mouth as fiercely as he would any foe.

At long last, when we separated for air, Link leaned back to better see me... and froze. Wide, crystal blue irises shimmering with an odd mixture of awed reverence, horrified shock and boiling anger, Link he ran a hand over my chest and the netting of puckered white scars crisscrossing my torso and arms. Mapping out the line of the particularly long, ropy scar slashed over my left pectoral, Link whispered, his voice strained, "Sheik... These scars... There are so many..."

"I was not as fortunate in my friends as you were, Link," I explained quietly as the blonde continued his half-admiring, half-horrified exploration of my damaged body, his touch gravitating to my arms. "When Ganondorf expressed his... displeasure with me... I had no village healers, enchanted potions, or farm girls proficient in treating wounds to help me. At most, all I ever had was a half washed rag to cinch the bleeding... and even then it was only on a good day. Most never healed properly, and... well, you see the result."

The Hylian's exploration had carried to my shoulders, and with a light touch, ghosted a finger over the skin of my back, right between the shoulder blades. "And this...?"

"...Is not Ganondorf's work." I finished for him, gently drawing his hand away from my neck and laying him back on the ground. Even without looking, I knew what it was he touched: the golden tattoo of the Triforce, held between the outstretched wings of a phoenix. "All Guardians have the Crest of the Royal Family inked into their skin as part of the initiation ritual."

A sigh escaped Link's lips, his drifting closed. When they reopened, they followed the path of his hand as he caressed my stomach and its myriad of scars. "Sheik... your body... it is breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time."

"They are merely scars, remnants of the past," I argued firmly, stroking a hand across his chest, down his ribs and stomach, moving lower. "Stop worrying about what was..." My hand slithered under the waistline of his leggings, wrapping around the hard length hidden beneath; the Hylian's breath caught, "And focus on what is..."

"Oh, Goddesses..." Link moaned weakly as I stroked him, his fair eyebrows knitting together above his closed eyes, his expression one of complete bliss. "S-Sheik... it feels so good..." The delectable sounds and enticing words shot white-hot bliss straight to my groin, and my own straining flesh throbbed in need.

Panting heavily, I leaned over the writhing Link to whisper huskily in one long ear, "Glad you listened to me about relinquishing the past and experiencing on the present?" Twisting my hand around him, Link cried out in pleasure, bucking helplessly into my touch. Inwardly, I smirked. _Five years of torment finally paid off._

"N-not like you... ahh... offered me much choice..." Link gasped out between moans, his body trembling as I tightened my hand around him, pumping him faster. Lust-clouded, sky blue irises cracked open as the hero panted helplessly, "Sheik... it feels incredible... Better than I ever imagined..."

Yanking me down my by hair, Link kissed me fiercely, all but plunging his tongue into my mouth. I smiled into the kiss, swallowing the sound of each beautiful moan and worshipping the hot, rigid organ in my hand. The action was familiar, but the newly blossomed sense of enjoyment and gratification at the pleasure I brought the man below me was a foreign, but welcomed sensation.

Following my earlier example, Link divested one hand from my hair to touch my chest, his fingers flicking curiously over a nipple. I shivered as the pleasure rolled through me. Fueled by my response, Link experimentally rolled the hardened bud of flesh between his fingers and wedging a knee between my legs, rocking it against me in time with my strokes. Alien pleasure jarred me, sapping the strength of my limbs and nearly collapsed on top of the hero, my fingers wavering around him. While I was well-versed in the ways of performing sexual favors, in matters of receiving them, I was as inexperienced as Link. I was used to pain, not pleasure.

Partly to distract myself, partly to hear the Hylian's blissful cries, I shoved Link's knee to the ground and swiftly crawled down the length of his body. Immediately, Link's breath hitched in his throat as I knelt between his legs, eyes fixated on the prominent lump swelling underneath his cream-colored leggings. Eager to finally taste the hero, I curled my fingers around the waistline of his leggings, slowly drawing them downward...

"No! Sheik, wait!"

Suddenly, Link's hips jerked away from me and it was a moment before I realized he had sat up. Hand curling around my chin, lifting my face skyward, I saw his sweat-slickened chest heaving in time with his ragged breathing, his blue eyes glittering with lust. Color flushed his cheeks, though whether it was from desire or embarrassment, I was unsure. In a hushed, winded breath, he repeated, "Wait..."

"Are you embarrassed?" I asked softly, reaching up to stroke one red cheek, brushing the fingers of my other hand over his still-clothed member. He trembled, his eyelids fluttering and a shaky breath expelling from his lungs. "I know this is new to you, Link, but please, trust me. There is no need to be nervous. You will feel nothing but pleasure."

"I do trust you, Sheik. I trust you with my life," the warrior assured quietly, smiling kindly at me as he drew me upward, grazing his lips across my brow. "But I did not stop you out of embarrassment or fear." Link then planted a hand on my chest, and much to my surprise, pushed me down into the grass before straddling me. "I stopped you because I want to do it."

My eyes flew open wide and I sat up so fast I nearly smashed noses with Link. "How did you even know what I was about to do? And more importantly, how do you even know what that is?" I demanded, horrified and shocked. "I can say with utmost certainty the elderly lady who explained the concept of reproduction to you did _not_ include _that _in her lesson!"

Laughing softly, Link eased me back down to the earth and explained, "I heard tale of it from some of the more bawdy customers at Kakariko's tavern one night. They had finished off several rounds of ale and began boisterously sharing their latest romp with their pals. Naturally, a competition arose between the patrons and soon, every sailor, knight and blacksmith in the tavern were boasting about their sexual conquests with men, women or both, or even about the skill of their favorite harlot at a local brothel. As it was impossible to ignore the volume and omnipotence of conversation, I could not help but store all manners of sexual knowledge I overheard away in my head." Here, color began to infuse Link's cheeks and, embarrassed, he stammered, "Only... only after I dreamt of... performing oral gratification for you... was the desire to please you as such kindled within me. But now it is so much more than mere curiosity and the urge to please..."

Suddenly, Link was over me, blotting out the sky and stars with his glorious body, a determined gleam in his cloudy blue eyes. Strong, calloused fingers formed iron manacles around my wrists, shackling my hands above my head. Unless it was a trick of the light, a soft golden glow emanated from behind me, gilding the silvery strands of my hair. For a moment, I wondered if it was the Triforce of Courage only to chide myself at the ridiculous notion. Link had no need of its heavenly valor here and–

And all other thoughts were blown from my mind like a gust of wind scattering stacks of unrolled parchment as Link's free hand slithered under my bunched battlesuit, palming me in his warm, firm grip. I gasped in surprise, my eyelids fluttering weakly as the blonde trailed wildfire kisses down my throat and over my chest.

"But now," he continued in a whisper, his lips hovering tantalizingly over one nipple, his breath ghosting over the sensitive skin, "my pride will not allow you to dominate me again. You have bested me in speed, stealth and wisdom, but you will not beat me here." To demonstrate, Link's mouth locked around the tight bud of flesh, sucking on it gently. My body jerked sharply in response, and a hiss of pleasure snaked through my teeth. The combined bliss of the Hylian's tongue sliding over my nipple and the long, firm strokes of his palm had me quivering helplessly.

"You may have more experience than I in matters of sexual gratification, but I am determined to surpass you," Link murmured breathily, kissing across my chest to lavish my other nipple with the same skillful treatment of his mouth. "I _will _shatter your stubborn silence and I _will _be the first to hear you crying out in bliss, the first to bring you such pleasure you cannot hold your voice in."

In an unexpected motion, the hero twisted my flesh in his hand, and pleasure spiked through me so intensely my body jerked. My breath caught in my throat and I arched unconsciously into his touch, biting my tongue to counter the moan forming on it. However, the hero offered me no chance of recovery and repeatedly twirled his rough, capable hand around me 'til I was nearly thrashing beneath him in throes of electrifying pleasure. In effort to remain silent through the jolts of bliss, my teeth clenched together and my trapped hands curled in on themselves, nails digging into the pliable flesh of my palms.

Heat and flesh shifted over me as Link abandoned his sweet torture on my nipples to move lower, peppering my ribs with stinging kisses. "I _will _be the one to pierce your impenetrable, stoic Sheikah composure, the only one to see you lose control and give all of yourself to me," he continued, his smoldering mouth and scalding breath skimming teasingly over the toned planes of my stomach, my muscles contracting involuntarily at the sensual, butterfly-wing touches.

Releasing my wrists and – with a barely restrained whimper of disappointment on my part – the hard column of my flesh, Link's hands settled on my hips, rolling my battlesuit down my thighs and free of my legs. A slight shudder ran through me as my naked legs touched the earth, feeling the coarse bristle of the grass beneath my skin, uninterrupted by cloth or armor. Bared to the moon and stars, the wind and the earth, I could not help but feel vulnerable, exposed, weak.

But when Link's celestial eyes found me, raking reverently over my naked body from head to toe, I felt like something else: beautiful. Positioning himself between my legs, in one long fluid motion, the blonde ran his palms from my shoulders all the way down my chest and stomach. I gasped at the sensual caress and my back arched, following the touch of his hands like an ocean wave. Steadying me with a firm hold on my hips, Link's lips tantalized the skin around and below my navel, his breath hot as he promised, "I _will _eradicate all the pain Ganondorf inflicted on you, and I _will_ replace his torture with a tenfold of pleasure so you will never remember his vile touch."

Suddenly, my eyes flew open as wet heat engulfed me and my gut clenched at the surge of burning pleasure. "Link!" I sputtered breathlessly, reflexively reaching down to tangle my fingers in his hair. A half-choked off moan wrestled from my throat as Link's mouth began a rhythmic contraction around me, creating a glorious suction that had me twisting the golden locks in my hands. The mind-blowing pleasure and my desperate urge to feel more of his mouth were so intense it took all the self-control I had just to keep myself from thrusting into his mouth. Recalling that this was the Hylian's first time to ever attempt oral pleasure, I knew the only accomplishment I would achieve by ramming myself down his throat would be to chase him away from the act.

Though my rationalization helped me restrain my impulses, it was infuriatingly difficult to remain passive under the blissful ministrations of Link's mouth. On the one hand, I had no desire to frighten him away with overzealous reactions and was eager to let him experiment with the new situation on his own. On the other hand, my hips and thighs ached and trembled from the exertion it took to remain immobile and I longed to educate him in the more effective method of oral treatment... and to feel the results. In the end, my desperate need outweighed courtesy, and I pushed lightly, but firmly on the top of Link's head, trying to compel him downward.

Questioning crystal blue eyes flicked up to my face, locking with my own. I very nearly lost it then and there. With Link's lustful, stormy irises staring up at me through strands of sunbeam hair while his mouth encircled me, the Hylian was most seductive and alluring sight I had ever laid eyes on. Merely gazing at him had me hardening in his mouth.

Then, Link submitted to my hand's steady pressure against his skull, drawing more of my flesh into his mouth. A shuddering breath expelled from me as I steered the up and down motion of the blonde's head, my fingers gripping his hair so tightly they threatened to tear the sun-hued strands from his scalp. Even guided, the burning wetness of his lips had me pinned to the earth with an unbreakable force, the sensation robbing me of the ability to conjure up movement.

Abruptly swatting my hands from his hair like a pesky fly, Link seized my hips firmly in his hands, and I cried out suddenly as he all but swallowed me whole. The strong hold on my hips kept me from bucking into his mouth, but not even I could prevent the strangled groans and gasping moans escaping me. Each wet pass and hard suck of Link's liquid fire mouth on my flesh struck jolts of pleasure though me, like a smithy hammering on a new piece of steel. My hands balled into fists at my sides, tearing up chunks of grass and soil as the ecstasy climbed higher, reducing me to a mindless, writhing, gasping creature. The coiled bliss in my gut wound tighter and more intense with every slick stroke, every contraction of Link's mouth around me. I felt my groin tightening, a telltale sign that the throbbing, electrifying pleasure was inching closer and closer to detonation, and I knew I would not last much longer if Link continued. As much as my body screamed, burned, ached for release _now_, I did not want to startle Link with an explosive ending, and, more importantly, wanted to save my climax for a more fulfilling completion.

With excruciating difficulty, I tugged sharply on Link's golden hair, stammering, "Link, wait... Stop..."

Surrendering to harsh pull on his hair, Link withdrew his mouth from me, and I groaned weakly at the loss. Already, I could feel my impending climb to climax slowly recede back into an aching throb, a combined effect of the cessation of pleasure and the night air cooling my feverish, saliva dampened flesh.

"I need not ask if you were enjoying yourself. Your body told me that much," Link began assuredly as I sat up and drew him to me, absently stroking a _rhyfel'aira_ slashed across my cheek."What I do not understand is why you stopped me when you were obviously feeling pleasure."

Lovingly brushing the damp, golden bangs from his face, I stared intently into his crystalline eyes and responded, "I interrupted you because, before we continue, I wish to know how far you are willing to go. I do not want any misunderstandings between us, especially not ones as serious as these."

For a long moment, Link held my gaze unwaveringly. Then, without breaking eye contact, he leaned in to tenderly kiss me, his tongue salty with the tang of my essence. Cerulean irises locked with scarlet, mouths inseparably intertwined, the Hylian hooked an arm around my neck and slowly drew me down with him as he lay back against the grass. At a carefully measured pace he extracted his mouth from mine, but continued to hold me close, our lips brushing, our breaths mingling together as one.

Finally, Link began to speak in a hushed whisper, his thumb stroking my cheek, "I may be ignorant of little more than the basics of this kind of joining, but I do know I want to be one with you, consequences be damned. I will gladly weather any and all penalties that our actions might bring us, for I would pay the price of a thousand deaths for just one night with you."

At these words, my heart squeezed and tripped over itself, an elated swell of joy inflating so wildly in my chest I felt as if I would burst. Warmth trickled from my painfully beating heart and seeped into my limbs, tantalizing my nerves until I felt as if I had been consumed by all the fire and heat of Death Mountain. Fearing spontaneous human combustion, I cupped Link's face and crushed my mouth to his, pouring all my violate passion, love and jubilation into the frantic kiss of lips, teeth and tongues. Link gasped under the intensity of my fervent kiss, his eyes wide, but he eventually surrendered to it, his lids sliding half closed and his fingers digging into my shoulder blades, pulling me closer.

As our lungs were burning and screaming for air, we parted, both panting as heavily as if we had battled a platoon of Stalfos. Wiping away a thin trickle of saliva at the corner of Link's mouth, I conceded, giving him the chance to back out, "If that is what you wish, _lywnnola_."

"It is," he confirmed in a breathless whisper, "So please hurry. I fear my sanity will flee me if I am forced to wait much longer." Hearty color unexpectedly enflamed the Hylian's cheeks, and with an air of unwavering certainty, he commanded, "Enter me so we may become one."

Although my member twitched at the sound of the hero's unintentionally erotic command, I shoved aside my anticipation and desire, and frowned, brow furrowing into a deep crevice.

"No."

"What?" Alarmed, Link pushed himself up to his elbows, intense hurt and dizzying confusion marring his face. The sight tore at my heartstrings. "But, Sheik–"

"This is not a rejection, Link," I interrupted reassuringly, reaching out to stroke his face. "I am not refusing to have sex with you–" He blushed crimson at my use of the word "–but rather your request to bottom. I know what you are trying to do, and I appreciate it. Truly, I do. However, it is unnecessary."

"But, Sheik," he began again, just as insistent and urgent as before, but now that he knew I was not denying him his posture was more relaxed, "You only just woke up. Even in all of Zelda's power, many of your wounds have not fully mended. You told me yourself Ganondorf raped you before we met on the stairs, so it is very well possible you are not healed... well, _there_... I could never forgive myself if I caused you additional pain."

Shaking my head slowly, I insisted, "It matters not. Enduring five years under Ganondorf's assaults has strengthened me rather than breaking me. My threshold for pain is now very high; even if I have not healed completely, having you inside me will not cause me discomfort." Crimson flushed the Hylian's face, his encased arousal twitching eagerly against the inside of my thigh. "Trust me, Link. Not only am I used to being the submissive one, but it will be more enjoyable for the both of us that way. Besides, were you not the one who claimed he would scour the memory of Ganondorf's touch from my skin? What better way to achieve your boast than by bringing me pleasure in the way he brought me ultimate pain?"

The anxiety in his eyes cleared like clouds blown away from the sun, revealing the clear, blue summer sky behind. "Aye... I nearly forgot," Link whispered, a smile slowly stretching his lips as he skimmed his mouth against mine. "I have a promise to keep."

"That you do," I responded breathily with a tender smile of my own. Placing a hand on his chest, I gently pushed him back down onto the ground. Even through skin and flesh, I felt his heartbeat against my palm, strong, deep and beating wildly. Sweeping the sunset hair from his face, I stared intently into his eyes and said, "I know you are at least a little nervous; we all are our first time. But you have nothing to fear. I will guide you as I always have; your natural instincts will take care of the rest."

Wordlessly, Link nodded and smiled, all the trust and love he felt for me written plainly in his expression. Encouraged, I shimmied down the length of his body to finally tug off his boots and leggings. Now that we were both naked, the blonde's breathing increasing noticeably and a blush stained his cheeks. Heart fluttering in my chest like the wings of a hummingbird, I straddled his waist and gazed down at Link, taking a moment to digest that this was real. Then, unable to wait any longer, I discreetly coated my fingers with liberal amounts of saliva before leaning in to kiss the Hylian. Reaching between our bodies, I gently stroked Link with my slickened fingers, smearing the fluid over his hardened flesh. Link immediately mewled into my mouth, clutching desperately at me as he bucked into my hand, trying to generate more sensation out of my light touches. A second later, I granted his silent request, wrapping my hand around the base of his member, holding him steady as I lowered myself onto him.

Tearing his mouth away from me, Link's head fell back against the grass, releasing a strangled, pleasured cry to the heavens. A trembling gasp escaped my own lips. Eyes sliding shut, I shivered at the sensation of Link inside of me, filling me. This feeling... there was no other way to describe it but _right_. With Ganondorf, all I ever felt was disgust, humiliation and immeasurable pain. No amount of bathing ever left me feeling clean. Nothing could dispel the phantom remnants of his hands on my skin, not even when I clawed at my own flesh in desperation to escape the memory of his touch.

But with Link, I felt an overwhelming sense of passion, of completion, of _rightness_. There was pain, yes, but it was minimal, deriving more from the stretching of my half-healed wounds than from lack of preparation or the physical presence of Link inside me. The saliva coating the Hylian's member was the first lubrication, the first preparation I had ever used, but even without it, the simple pleasure of being joined with Link would not have been sullied. We were a perfect fit, as if Farore made us for each other.

"Sheik..." Link panted, drawing me out of my amazed trance. Reaching out, he cupped my face with both hands, staring keenly into my eyes with his lust-hazed ones. "Are you in pain?"

Smiling gently at him, I shook my head and touched the back of one hand. "Quite the contrary," I corrected, lowering my hands to brace them on his shoulders. "You feel incredible." Thigh muscles flexing, I lifted myself up and slowly slid back down the length of his hard flesh, pleasure tightening in my gut from the wondrous sensation and Link's cry of utter bliss.

Eyes squeezed shut, brow furrowed and sweat beading his forehead, Link blindly reached out for me and dragged me down to him. Twining his hands in my pale hair, he whispered pleadingly against my lips, "Keep going... Whatever you do... do not stop..."

Having been the slave to two blood bonds, I had grown to resent direct orders. However, Link's command was one I was more than willing to obey. Utilizing the stabilizing leverage of the ground and his shoulders, I drove myself down onto the blonde at a steady, measured pace, his burning member sliding through me like a hot knife through butter. It was all so intense, a sensory overload: Link's erotic cries and seductive facial expressions; the tangy flavor of sweat on golden skin and the musky smell of sex; the sheer pleasure stabbing through me with every thrust. Never before had I felt like this, so filled with bliss I felt disconnected from this earth, as if I were floating boundlessly up into the clouds. Panting and gasping for breath, I was lightheaded from intoxication, but instead of ale, I was drunk on pleasure, on love, on _Link_. And I longed for more. I wanted to be inebriated to the point where all that existed in my world was this ecstasy, this passion, and this man below me.

"Sheik..." the blonde warrior gasped, his arms encircling my neck, fingers tugging at the hair at the nape of my neck. "Sheik... oh, Goddesses, it feels so good... I never want... never want to stop... Ah! I want more... I _need _to... feel more of you..."

"So demanding..." I chided huskily, breathlessly, but nonetheless pushed off his shoulders to sit upright, hands braced against his chest. Immediately, Link slid deeper inside of me, every inch of him from tip to hilt sheathed within my body. The slight shift in position wrestled a cry from the blonde, and I myself had to bite back a moan. The impression of fullness had increased, Link's member exerting a steady pressure against a certain, sensitive spot inside me that sent tremors through my body. Losing himself to carnal desires, Link thrust up into me with a wavering moan, and I jerked from the sudden jolt of pleasure. Taking the hint, I timed my pace with Link's thrusts, thigh muscles straining and fingers curling into his chiseled sides as I impaled myself onto him, driving him deeper and harder into me with every stroke. Heat surged through me with every measured roll of my hips, striking the pleasure point within me even as I rode Link as one would ride a horse.

However, while I was content with my leisurely pace, striving to lengthen our union, my Hylian lover was not quite as patient. Warm, strong hands seized my hips, jerking me to the side and suddenly, cold earth struck my heated back. Before I could fully process the sight of Link braced on his elbows above me, he yanked my hips up to meet a powerful downward thrust. The blonde's sudden boldness coupled with the sharp stab of ecstasy startled me into unleashing a short, pleasured cry. Biting the inside of my cheek, I grappled with the escalating effort it took to remain mute as Link plunged into me, repeatedly assailing that one spot, unleashing wave after wave of white-hot bliss through me. Link, however, refused to have any part in my silent routine.

Balancing himself on his right arm, the warrior circled my flesh with his left hand, making my breath catch in my throat. "Stop holding back," he commanded with unexpectedly steady authority, pumping me hard and fast and eliciting a half smothered moan. "I want to hear your voice." He punctuated his statement with a thrust so powerful, stars burst before my eyes and I screamed, short and strangled. Link smirked. "Good boy."

Glaring up at him, I raised myself up enough to nip sharply on the tip of one long ear, and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. "Do not patronize me, Hero," I warned dangerously, lying back against the grass.

With a grin, Link twisted his hand around the head of my member and almost reflexively, I bucked helplessly into his touch, moaning lowly. "Never would I dream of it, O Shadow Warrior."

Then – even as we panted and moved against each other, basking in the pleasure of our intimacy, Link staring down into my face – his crystalline eyes softened abruptly, adapting a loving expression. Without hindering the speed or intensity of his thrusts, Link lifted his hand from my hard flesh to touch my face. Callous-roughened fingertips mapped out my facial features, tracing the path of my _rhyfel'aira_,outlining the shape of my eyelids, parted lips, the narrow taper of my ears, trailing through my damp hair... Summer blue eyes followed the motion of his fingers as they ventured down my neck and collarbone, trekked the crisscrossed terrain of my scarred chest and traveled over the taut, sweaty planes of my abs. I already was feverish and lightheaded from the intense pleasure of Link's touch and thrusts, but the amorous gleam in his eyes as they examined my body – appreciating it, worshiping it – had me aflame in a pit of lava. Everywhere his eyes and hand touched sent my nerves tingling and burning until I felt as if he was touching me everywhere at once. Unable to stop myself, shivers and soft moans seized me as I lost myself to the pleasure, my body trembling with uncontrollable bliss.

Wandering away from my stomach, Link's scorching hand curled around my hip, wedging between the small of my back and the ground. Then, his palm coiled around the taut curve of my butt, sliding downward to touch the spot where his body and mine joined. The Hylian's touch seemed to reinforce the authenticity of the situation, that Link was really there, inside of me, making love to me.

The reality of it all sent a powerful surge of pleasure through me, driving me to helplessly moan his name, "_Link_..."

A moment later, Link's hand was splayed over my slick lower back, forcefully drawing me closer to him, sliding in deeper as he claimed my lips in a passionate, breathtaking kiss. Hand knotting in my hair, he held my mouth to his for a moment longer before breaking away with a needy gasp. Gazing adoringly into my eyes, Link whispered, "You're so beautiful, Sheik... Absolutely everything about you is breathtaking..."

My breath hitched in my chest, my heart swelling against the confining bars of my ribs. However, before I find the words to voice the strength of my emotions, Link's pace increased, and he pistoned faster in and out of me. The half formed words died in my throat, reverting into a wordless moan instead. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him down to me, craving the crushing weight and heat of his body, the slippery chaffing of our chests as they rubbed together. But even then it was not enough, and I lifted my legs up, locking my ankles around his waist. Immediately, the pressure increased and we moaned simultaneously. Our mouths collided with a kind of animalistic desperation, tongues twining and lips meshing in time with our thrusts, each of us clinging to the other like a lifeline as the swell of pleasure intensified.

"Sheik," Link gasped out against my mouth, his body trembling against mine. "Sheik, I cannot hold out much longer..."

The Hylian's words reinforced the pleasure coiling in my groin like a spring-loaded trap, winding it tighter. "Nor can I..." I admitted breathlessly. Unhitching my legs from his waist, I tucked them between our chests before extending them to drape my knees over his shoulders. We both cried out as Link slid deeper inside of me, striking the pleasure point within me with such ferocious accuracy that I convulsed.

Panting and gasping, I managed to sputter weakly, "Make every last second count, Link..."

An affirmative grunt was his only response as he rammed himself into me, his thrusts short, hard and erratic, but as deadly accurate as his bowshot when it came to striking the magic spot within me. As the pleasure climbed higher, my moans and cries grew louder, and my legs tightened around Link's shoulders. More than once, I had to remind myself not to squeeze too tightly, lest my powerful leg muscles accidentally strangle Link.

Just as I was nearing my climax, Link snapped. With a final plunge, a gargled shout and a spray of wet heat, he came inside of me. Trembling violently, his foggy blue eyes slid shut and he thrust weakly into me, riding out his orgasm, my name falling from his lips like a prayer. The burn of his searing essence filling me and warming my insides threw me over the edge of the cliff. With a breathy cry, the pleasure exploded and I, too, came, my flesh twitching as it shot my seed against my stomach. For a long while, I could only lay there beneath Link, weathering the shockwaves of mind-numbing pleasure as they rocked through me like pulsations from an earthquake.

Shivering and breathless from the sheer force of my climax, my legs fell limp against Link's shoulders, and slowly, I lowered the long, trembling limbs to the ground. A heartbeat later, Link pulled out of me and rolled onto his side, gathering me into his arms and holding me against his chest. Breathless, sweaty and sticky, we lay in each other's embrace, staring into the other's lust-clouded eyes as we slowly descended from our highs, regaining our breath.

Suddenly, a smile began to spread across Link's face, slowly stretching from ear to ear. It was the same warm, sunny, childlike smile I had fallen in love with so many years ago. In spite of myself, an answering smile upturned my own lips. Cupping his face in both hand, I touched his sweaty brow to mine, closing my eyes as I whispered softly, "_Fy'daira_, Link."

Link needed no knowledge of the Shadow Tongue to hear the adoration in my voice or to decipher my words. Damp, chapped lips pressed softly against mine, warm breath tickling my mouth as he responded, drawing me closer, "And I love you."

Later, I could never recall how long we laid together in the grass outside the Shadow Temple, wrapped up in each other's arms, completely alone save for the occasional inquisitive spirit or two. All that existed to me was the sweat cooling our flushed skin, the heat of Link's muscled body against mine, and the deep-seated satisfaction of finally consummating my love for the Hero of Time. Even after recovering from my climax, my nerves still tingled, replaying the feel of Link's hands, mouth and body. Nothing could pierce the protective barrier the Hylian's touch had cast upon my body. I felt... I felt...

Realization hit me and my eyes flew open. Despite being covered in perspiration, saliva, semen and dirt, I felt _clean_, cleaner than I had in five years since Ganondorf first touched me. For the first time in half a decade, all the torture and sins sullying my body felt as if they had been cleansed, the Gerudo king's crimes washing away like layers of grime built up from years of trekking through the wilderness. It was if Link's pure light had purged me of the remaining wisps of Ganondorf's evil through our joining, unclogging the shadows of my heart and freeing me from my phantom shackles. His light unbound me, allowing me to exist by his side as a cleansed shadow.

Before I could stop it, a soft chuckle escaped my lips. Curious, Link glanced down at me and asked, "What is it, Sheik?"

"You made well on your promise," I informed him quietly, sweeping his damp bangs out of his celestial blue eyes. "I can no longer feel the Black King's vile touch. You rewrote the memories of pain scribed on my body with pleasure. Your hands are the only ones I feel now, the only ones I can recall."

Rather than looking smug, Link's expression was tender as he leaned down to kiss me. "Good," he murmured against my lips, "because so long as I can help it, my hands will be the only ones to know your body so intimately."

Smiling faintly, I responded, "And they are the only hands I will ever desire." My eyes drifted up to the heavens and noted the sky's lightening color, gradually shifting from black to blue. "No matter how desperately I long to remain here with you, I fear our time is up. Dawn is approaching and I can imagine there will be a number of distraught mothers if they hear their children discovered two naked men in the graveyard."

Unconcerned, Link shrugged one shoulder and hugged me closer. "They all grow up sooner or later. It will not harm them. They probably would not understand anyways."

Pursing my lips to hide my amusement, I arched an eyebrow at the blonde hero and countered mild, "Be that as it may, keep in mind there are also Sheikah lingering around the village. We may be of Shadow, but we are not nocturnal. The tribe will be waking up soon and many of us chose to rise before dawn for morning exercises. And if _they _find two naked men together, one of whom is a Sheikah Warrior–"

Link's vehement curse cut me off as he all but leapt from the ground, scrambling about to sort through our discarded garments. Laughing softly to myself, I sat up slowly and cringed. As focused as I had been on Link and the pleasure of the night, I had forgotten the pain of my wounds. Now they assaulted me in full force. Many had reopened, either from our earlier skirmish or during our love-making. A new pain had been added to my back, which ached both from being arched for so long while I had my legs over his shoulders and from Link's powerful thrusts scrubbing me against the ground, chaffing my skin raw.

_Zelda is going to kill me_, I thought with dread, sitting crosslegged and grinning faintly as I watched Link scuttle about, quite enjoying the view of his muscled behind. However, I decided the renewed pain and the princess's scolding were well worth the night's events. Not only did I rekindle my treasured friendship with the blonde hero, but I had learned of his love and acted upon it. And to me, that was all that mattered. Whatever fate threw at me – pain, Zelda's wrath, my tribe's punishment – I could handle.

"Catch!"

Instinctively, I snatched my battlesuit out of the air when Link threw it at me. He was hopping on one foot, trying to tug his boot on over his rumpled leggings, his green tunic dangling from between his teeth.

Amused, I snorted at his comical appearance as I tugged the one-piece battlesuit over my knees and stood up, carefully rolling the tight fabric up my thighs. "Link, you look ridiculous," I informed him matter-of-factly, laughing outright when he lost his balance and fell of his ass, his boot flying off into the air.

Rather than looking chagrinned, he smirked mischievously as he yanked his tunic over his head and retorted, "I may look silly, but at least _I _do not have grass stains on my back."

Freezing in the midst of shoving my arms into my sleeves, I stared at him in horror. "You're bluffing."

"You know I am terrible at bluffing," he countered mirthfully, standing up to retrieve his boot and shoved his foot into it. "Take a look for yourself."

Ignoring the protest of my stomach muscles, I craned my head around over my shoulders in attempt to peer down my back. Sure enough, pale green smudges blotted the pale skin of my shoulder blades.

"_Wrutrac'dosg_, he was right..." I cursed under my breath, hurriedly tugging my bodysuit up over my shoulders and quickly lacing up the front.

Sauntering over smugly, Link handed me my tabard as he fixed his cap atop his golden hair and cinched his belt around his waist. "Told you," he quipped gleefully, grinning as I huffily yanked the tabard and attached cowl over my head.

"Shove a cork in it," I suggested mildly, striding to the fence to fetch my lyre and wad my shredded wrappings in my hand. Without the bindings to hold it steady the tabard swished freely around my chest. Guiltily, Link glanced at the shredded cloth in my hand, following me as I leapt over the fence to the cobblestone path below.

After he had recovered and returned the Master Sword to its blue and gold embossed scabbard, the warrior apologized as we started down the path, "I am sorry about your bandages, Sheik. I forgot you needed to wear them again after I cut them off."

"So long as we avoid running into any Sheikah, no harm, no foul," I told him placidly, offering an encouraging smile.

A little of the embarrassment lifted from his face and he relaxed, smiling faintly as he looked ahead. Behind us, the sky lightened to a hazy lavender-gray as the sun yawned in the east, bleaching the headstones in its waking light. As we neared the narrow pathway leading out from the graveyard and into the village, Link turned to me with an impish smile and asked, "So, what other impressive positions does your flexibility allow you to assume?"

Smirking, I cut my eyes toward him and teased suggestively, "I guess you will have to stick around long enough to find out."

Link opened his mouth to reply, only to close it slowly when his eyes fixated on something in front of us. Suddenly, his pace slowed, wariness crossing his features. I, too, shifted my eyes forward and felt an unpleasant jolt of fear. Early morning light spilled from the mouth of the short stairway below us, our only way back to Kakariko Village. Framed against that shaft of pale light was a black, humanoid silhouette, blocking our path.

Before I could discern if the person hidden in the half-light was friend or foe, or even before I could hide my exposed face behind my cowl, a familiar, female voice called out, "Enjoy yourselves, boys?"

"Zelda!" Link cried, embarrassed, a crimson blush spreading over his cheeks.

"Princess..." I sighed, relieved, pursing my lips faintly as my lady stepped into the light, ethereal in the dawn with her porcelain skin, burnished gold hair and glittering sapphire eyes. The sly, knowing smirk on her lips, however, belied her regal, angelic appearance.

Hands on her hips, the princess stepped directly in front of us, keen eyes taking in our disheveled clothes, damp hair and the torn bindings in my hands. Grinning widely, she giggled, "Judging by your appearances, I would say so."

Link flushed even redder and stammered wordlessly, trying to explain. With a laugh and a carefree gesture of her gloved hand, Zelda wedged herself between us, wrapping a slender arm around each of our waists and steered us towards Impa's house.

"Breathe easy, Link," she encouraged, smiling beautifully at him. "No need to be so mortified. I was, after all, the one who convinced Sheik to seek you out." Turning her oceanic eyes to me, she asked, "So, tell me, Sheik. Was I correct in my prediction?"

Returning her gaze evenly, I responded, "Yes, Princess. You were," and smiled gently at her, silently thanking her. With a wink and a laugh, she squeezed Link and me in a one-armed hug, the three of us – the Heroes of Hyrule – temporarily lost in our private world as we climbed the stairs toward the cottage.

It was then I recognized light and shadow did not exist in separate worlds. We lived side by side, each complimenting the other. Yes, it was true shadow could not exist without light, but without shadow, light was shapeless. Shadow needed light, and light needed shadow. They were two parts of the same whole, just as Link and I were. And that revelation led me to a second one: I had formed a blood bond with Link that night. However, ours was different from the one I had had with Ganondorf, even the one I shared with Zelda. It was natural, not forged by blood magic but by the love and passion we had for each other. Although I was unsure of what the future held for us, I knew the bond between Link and I would continue even after we passed from this world.

Ours was a blood bond I did not mind having.

* * *

**Glossary/Translations**

_lywnnola_ = a term of endearment, literally means "dear heart," close to "sweetheart."

_fy'daira = _"I love you." Fy'daira is used for romantic love.

_wrutrac'dosg_ = a curse; literally means "bleeding shadows."

* * *

**Ending notes: **Okay, even though I tried to keep that as tasteful as humanly possible, I'm still blushing. God, I cannot believe I wrote such a graphic sex scene, much less posted it...

Anyways, I tried something different here with Sheik and Link, and I'm not totally sure if I succeeded the way I wanted to. While Sheik is definitely uke and Link is definitely seme, I kinda blurred and flip-flopped the seme/uke rules, Sheik being a mature, experienced uke and Link a child-like, inexperienced seme. Frankly, while I _do _picture Sheik as being more mature and reserved, I just can't see him as a seme. The whole idea of him submitting to others fits him so much better, being a Sheikah and therefore, by canon and my own version, a servant to Hylians. Likewise, with Link, yes I see him as a child trapped in a man's body, but I also see him as highly active and competitive, and, canonically, he's also a renown hero, imbued with the power of the Farore. To me, that just doesn't ring uke. And, while Sheik _does _have more experience, I tried to write the sex scene in such a way that he wasn't so much as in control as he was _guiding _Link. That plays along with his character and what he's done already. For the most part, he _guided _Link to the Temples, _guided _him in what to do, and then, once Link had that knowledge, he let him go off and take over from there. So, for the most part, after Sheik showed him the ropes, Link seized control and exerted himself primarily as the dominant one. Plus, physically speaking, they both fit the seme/uke body structure stereotypes, Sheik being slightly shorter, thinner, and more of an androgynous pretty boy and Link being taller, more muscular and has a definitive masculine handsomeness. People may disagree with me, but that's just the way I see their characters, and I did my best to stay true to my version of their personalities.

Well, that's all I have to say about this chapter. Again, I am very sorry for the intensely long wait (curse you, real life!) and I would like to thank you all for reading my story, especially those of you who have been reading it from the very moment I posted the first chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoyed and that this final chapter lived up to your expectations. I tried my hardest for you guys! Please let me know how I did. As I always say, I love getting reviews and I love my reviewers! You bring a smile to my face =)

**EDIT: **For all of those who enjoyed this story, I just wanted to let you know that I _am _working on a sequel of sorts to _Bound by Blood_. It's not a direct sequel; it takes place in the _Twilight Princess _world, and deals with Link and Sheik's descendents. The story occurs after the events of _Twilight Princess _with a new threat, new evil, and new romance between _TP _Link and Sheik (I looked; they _did _have a Sheik planned for _TP _but cut him/her. However, I will adopt him for my own purposes =P). This story _will _reveal the details of the Great Betrayal, and what happens to Link and Sheik after _Bound by Blood_. If you're interested, feel free to swing by my profile. I'm keeping a status update there on the progress of the story for curious readers. It's a long one - 15 chapters planned thus far - so I figured I'd keep those interested informed.

Love you all! *hugs and kisses* Until next time!

~Des


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